New Opponent for Joel Julio’s Televised Return to Welterweight

Added on May 11, 2011 by Brian Blake in

Boxing

Originally Colombia’s Joel Julio was to have faced Antwone Smith in his return to the welterweight division but that fight would fall by the wayside as Smith suffered an injury to his elbow while training.

Main Events CEO Kathy Duva announced earlier today that Julio would now face Anges Adjaho in the main event of ESPN2′s Friday Night Fights series taking place at the Prudential Center’s AmeriHealth Pavilion in New Jersey on May 20.

After experiencing mixed results as a junior middleweight Julio and his team ultimately decided to move back down to the 147-lb. division where he spent the earlier years of his career.

Following and impressive 27-0 start, Julio challenged Carlos Quintana for the WBO and WBC Latino Welterweight titles ultimately coming up short and allowing Quintana to take a unanimous decision. He bounced back and captured the WBO Latino Welterweight strap in his following bout against Cosme Rivera whom he narrowly outpointed with a 12-round split decision win.

Despite his first minor title as a welterweight, Julio moved up to the 154 lb. division where he reeled off six consecutive wins against the likes of Cornelius Bundrage and Ishe Smith. The run was capped off with a sixth round stoppage victory over Jose Varela for the vacant WBO Latino light middleweight title.

Julio would go on to drop two consecutive fights for the only time in his career when he lost a close but unanimous decision to Serhiy Dzinziruk while challenging for his WBO Light Middleweight crown and then was stopped by the heavy hands of James Kirkland who registered a sixth round TKO in San Jose, CA.

Julio went 1-1 in 2010 when he once again failed to capture the interim WBO light middleweight title as Alfredo Angulo stopped him in the eleventh round via TKO. His last bout put him back in the win column scoring a unanimous decision against Jamaal Davis.

His opponent in Anges Adjaho is looking to snap a four fight losing streak that dates back to July of 2009 when he was knocked out in the ninth frame of his scheduled 12-round WBC Lightweight Eliminator against Antonio Demarco.

His last bout was for the NABF welterweight title which ultimately went to the undefeated Shawn Porter who won by a wide unanimous decision.