Carlos Adames delivered one of the best performances of his career to retain the WBC middleweight title as he scored a unanimous decision over Austin Williams (20-2, 13 KOs) inside the Caribe Royale in Orlando, FL, on DAZN.
The three judges scored this one 118-108 and 117-111 twice for Adames (25-1-1, 18 KOs), who called out anyone in the junior middleweight, middleweight, and super middleweight divisions.
In the opening round, Williams wasted no time establishing his right jab as Adames kept taking them to see where he could find an opening. That opportunity came in the middle of the round when Adames landed a straight right hand that immediately had Williams on the back foot, and he would stay that way for the rest of the round. Williams landed a high number of 1-2s down the middle, but he was clearly affected by Adames’ right hand.
Moments into the second round, Adames landed a huge straight right hand that sent Williams down almost instantly. Williams beat the count and later came back to buzz Adames in the same round. Adames tried to finish off Williams but couldn’t do so in the second. Williams was able to rebound in the third round and returned to his early strategy, which was dictating the pace behind the right jab. Adames applied good pressure but didn’t land as much as he did in the previous round. Williams seemed to have shaken off being hurt in the second round.
In the fourth round, Adames’ foot feints and effective upper body movement prevented many of Williams’ punches from landing. Williams kept his right jab active throughout the round, but every time Adames landed a solid right hand, it immediately forced Williams to reset. Adames regained control of the fight in the fifth round as he continued applying pressure, but his straight right hands forced Williams to stay on the back foot.
A firefight broke out in the sixth round as Adames and Williams went blow for blow, landing huge shots on each other. Out of the two fighters, Adames was getting the best of the exchanges as his body attack was breaking Williams down. Williams was moving backward throughout the entire round. Although Adames didn’t land too many punches in the seventh round, his defense forced Williams to get frustrated. Adames was pushing the pressure and output of punches throughout the round.
More of the same from Adames and Williams occurred in the eighth and ninth rounds. In the tenth, Williams was giving it his all, but that also left him open for Adames’ punches. Williams was punching with Adames, which frustrated him. In the 11th, Adames hurt Williams badly with a straight right hand that sent his mouthpiece flying onto the canvas. The final round was filled with back-and-forth action, with a low blow by Adames resulting in a point deduction by the referee. In the end, Adames proved why he’s the champion, performing his best against a very tough opponent in Williams.
More must-reads:
+
Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!