Elijah “The Bully” Williams was a troubled kid over 10 years ago on the Newburgh streets when he discovered boxing.

In the words of his boxing coach Leonard Lee of the Hook Elite Boxing Club, he was a “little fat boy” when he left boxing to try his hand at football.

When that didn’t work out, Williams came back to Lee with a new focus.

“When he came back, he came back a young man,” Lee said. “He slimmed up good. He told me, ‘coach, I want to be great at this.’ He put the work in. I was surprised because I didn’t see him that way.”

During the COVID-19 pandemic, he went pro as a boxer, winning his first five bouts, two by knockout, before he suffered his first defeat on August 18 to Elijah Flores at the Caribe Royale Orlando, in the Most Valuable Prospects II event.

He lost by 6-round majority decision.

Neither Williams, nor Lee, regarded the fight as a loss, even though it goes down as one in the record book.

“I learned that I know what I’ve got to do now,” Williams said. “I know I’ve got to steamroll everyone that goes in the ring with me. Leave them no room to take the fight from you. Don’t give it to the judges, in boxing they are corrupt.”

He began his professional career in 2021, against Lee’s advice, but at a time when the world was emerging from the pandemic.

“I just felt like I was ready,” Williams said. “It was around COVID time I had turned pro, and amateurs weren’t boxing. Only the pros were fighting, and I was hungry. I was ready to get in the ring. I was doing all the training I needed to do to make that step.”

Lee didn’t want him to turn yet. At that time, Williams was 4-8 as an amateur, and Lee wanted him to win something big at the amateur level or try to earn Olympic status.

“He didn’t want to do that, and I kind of understand why he feels that way,” Lee said. “Boxing is corrupt and sometimes we lose when we win. It happened to me a few times. Elijah just really wanted to turn pro. He kept bothering me and bothering me, so we turned. Could have been my mistake. Maybe he was doing something I didn’t see. He was putting in the work.”

He began his professional career with a KO win over James Anderson on August 14, 2021. He won two fights In 2022, beating Ricardo Jimenez by split decision and knocking out Joey Aquino in four rounds.

He’s fought four times this year, already defeating Brendan Jackson, Marklin Bailey and Matt Garvey, all by unanimous decision before running into Flores on August 18.

As for what’s next. He hopes to get back in the ring around October, conquer his opponent and make a statement that he’s here to stay.

“It depends on what opportunities come up,” Williams said. “If I get hurt during fights, they give you a mandatory week break or two breaks between fights. After that, you can fight monthly if you want. You can fight every few weeks, so it all depends on the fighter and what opportunities come up.”

That leaves only one question. Why “The Bully”?

“He just got a new dog, and he just picked this name up really, and we were calling the dog, ‘The Bully,’” Lee said. “He stole his dog’s name.”