NEW YORK (May 19, 2014) – Talented junior middleweight Julian “J-Rock” Williams (15-0-1, 9 KOs), of Philadelphia, and world-ranked light heavyweight Eleider Alvarez (14-0, 8 KOs), of Montreal by way of Colombia, will put their unbeaten records on the line in 10-round junior middleweight and light heavyweight bouts against Michael Medina (26-4-2, 19 KOs), of Modesto, Calif., and Alexander Johnson (15-1, 6 KOs), of Washington, D.C., respectively, live on SHOWTIME EXTREME® (7 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast) on Saturday, May 24, from the Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada.
Both fights will air prior to a SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING tripleheader from the Bell Centre live on SHOWTIME® (9 p.m. ET/PT) that is headlined by the network debut of hard-hitting Adonis “Superman” Stevenson (23-1, 20 KOs), of Montreal, the 2013 Ring Magazine Fighter of the Year who defends his WBC light heavyweight championship against third-ranked contender Andrzej “The Polish Prince” Fonfara (25-2, 15 KOs), of Chicago.
In two 10-round fights on SHOWTIME, power-punching, world-ranked Montreal middleweight David Lemieux (31-2, 29 KOs) meets Fernando Guerrero (26-2, 19 KOs) of Salisbury, Md., and Houston’s unbeaten rising star Jermell Charlo (23-0, 11 KOs) takes on Japan’s Charlie Ota (24-1-1, 16 KOs) in a junior middleweight match.
Williams, 24, turned pro in May 2010. He’s won three in a row since his bout last Sept. 13 with Hugo Centeno ended in a fourth-round no-contest after an accidental head butt (at the time of the stoppage, Williams was leading 30-27 on the three judges’ scorecards).
In his last start this past March 17, Williams overpowered veteran Freddy Hernandez, winning by third-round knockout. Williams scored a knockdown with a right hand in the first round — the first punch of the fight, then scored another knockdown with a left hand in the third. Hernandez was counted out at 0:35.
Medina, a former NABF 154-pound champion and onetime sparring partner of boxing superstar Floyd “Money” Mayweather, is 8-3 in his last 11 outings. He will be making his first start since suffering a broken right ankle in a first-round knockout loss to Willie Nelson on March 1, 2013. Medina went down twice. Each time he thought he’d twisted an ankle. Only later, after x-rays were taken, did he learn that he had fractured the ankle.
Alvarez, a top-flight amateur, represented Colombia in the 2008 Olympic Games. Since turning pro in August 2009, he has campaigned exclusively in Montreal. He’s currently world-ranked in the WBO, WBA and WBC at 175 pounds. Two outings ago, the boxer-puncher registered a career-best 10-round unanimous decision over former super middleweight contender Edison Miranda on Sept. 28, 2013. In his lone start this year, Alvarez took a 10-round decision over Andrew Gardner on Jan. 18.
Johnson, who owns a noteworthy victory over previously undefeated Philadelphia prospect Farah Ennis, will be making his 2014 debut. A natural right-hander who fights southpaw, Johnson is a solid boxer with good skills and movement. He’s won three in a row since suffering his only defeat on a six-round decision to Luis Garcia on Dec. 30, 2011, on ShoBox: The New Generation. He won his most recent outing on a six-round decision over De Leon Tinsley on Dec. 14, 2013.
Brian Kenny will host the SHOWTIME EXTREME telecast, with Brian Custer calling the action and Steve Farhood serving as ringside analyst. SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING is hosted by Kenny with Mauro Ranallo calling the action, Hall of Fame analyst Al Bernstein and former world champion-turned analyst Paulie Malignaggi serving from ringside and Jim Gray reporting. For SAP, Alejandro Luna will call the blow-by-blow with former world champion Raul Marquez serving as color commentator. The executive producer is David Dinkins Jr. with Bob Dunphy directing.
