by David P. Greisman

Thomas Williams Jr. will be performing in front of Adonis Stevenson’s crowd when they fight July 29 in Quebec City. But that doesn’t mean that Williams feels he’s going to be in unfriendly territory.

“When I came to Canada for the press conference, I received a good welcome. I thought a lot of people in Canada like Adonis Stevenson because he’s from there, but a lot of people were telling me knock this guy out,” Williams said on a July 18 media conference call. “I don’t eve know why they were telling me this.”

Williams is from a suburb of Washington, D.C., but hasn’t fought near home in four years. He’s been on the road ever since, though never in front of the kind of large, passionate crowd that often shows up in support of the top boxers in Montreal and Quebec City.

 “It won’t be a distraction,” Williams said. “When you’re focused, you’re focused. It won’t be a problem.”

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