Carlos Adames vs Austin Williams fight preview
Carlos "Bronco" Adames vs Austin "Ammo" Williams special WBC fight preview
By James Blears
In a revamp, Carlos "Bronco" Adames, defends his WBC middleweight Crown against the free-wheeling Austin "Ammo" Williams, on Saturday March 21 at Orlando's Caribe Royale Hotel in Orlando, Florida, live on DAZN.
It was originally due on Saturday January 31st at Madison Square Garden, the Cathedral of Boxing, as an integral part of The Ring V1 gilt edged Card. But Adames got sick and it had to be re-arranged. Ammo stayed busy by fighting and defeating Wendy Toussaint in the original location on that night, winning via UD.
Now Carlos is fighting fit once again, raring and ready to go. He has said that destiny forgives once,but after that it collects. So, it's now time for him to deliver. While Austin says his decade of dedication is boiling down to one night. It's now time for action to match words.
On a recent visit to Mexico and during the first Martes a Café of the year, new Interim Champion Jesus Ramos Jr.praised Adames saying he wants to fight the winner of this upcoming bout between Bronco and Ammo, saying Adames is highly skilled, intelligent, has subtle head movement and a great team in his corner. He also prudently and diplomatically mentioned Ammo is a dangerous and capable challenger for the Green and Gold Belt. Both possess many qualities, but depending on strategy as well as the ability to adjust to any given situation, this fight could well be balanced upon a knife edge, decided by fine margins.
In his epic poem IF, Rudyard Kipling advises to maintain composure and self-control, by keeping calm, urging: "If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs. If you can trust yourself, when all men doubt you. Then yours is The Earth and everything in it. And what is more- you'll be a Man, my Son."
Both Carlos Adames and Austin Williams have similarly exotic name in common and that is… Hamzah Sheeraz. Austin fought him in last year's 5 vs 5 event between Queensberry and Matchroom in Riyadh.
It was a WBC Eliminator and oh boy it was a slugfest. Austin is six foot and Hamzah's six foot three, but Ammo paradoxically has a three-inch reach advantage. Yet he got caught with some sweeping uppercuts, plus solid body shots and this began to take its toll as the fight wore on.
A wicked right hook to the head dropped him hard in round 10, and he showed extraordinary bravery to get up and survive until the bell, but in the 11th, he was driven across the ring by a long right and a right to the body sank in deep, obliging the referee to save him at the 45 seconds point.
Carlos also had plenty of problems to try and resolve with Hamzah last February, also in Riyadh when they fought a barnstormer to a split draw. The scores of two judges had each fighter winning by a relatively wide margin, but in different directions. The third saw it as even. A dead heat, in the heat of the night.
Since his sole defeat, Austin has fought his heart out, winning three times with two TKO victories and one UD win. How much did the gruelling Hamzah fight take out of him? For that matter, how did it affect Carlos, who fought him more recently? Hamzah has now moved up to super-middleweight, so for the moment, he's no longer an immediate problem or threat to either.
Carlos Adames 24-1-1, 18 KOs, who is the hero of the Dominican Republic, is an accomplished boxer. His only loss thus far was to southpaw Brazilian Patrick Teixeira for the Interim WBO super-welterweight title, who outsmarted him, but the lesson was astutely learned.
He then overcame tough Sergiy Dervyanchecko by UD, KO'd Juan Macias Montiel in three for the WBC Interim title, stopped Julian Williams in nine and when Jermall Charlo was stripped of the title, Carlos was deservedly elevated. He successfully defended winning a UD against Terrell Gausha and then the test of fire, fit and wit against Hamzah Sheerez.
Southpaw Austin explains his nickname by saying that rich or poor, you have to make the best of what's in your hands, to shape your destiny and gain a winning hand. It`s his first major title challenge and he's aiming for the bullseye. He comes to it on the heels of knocking out Ivan Vazquez last July. He's two years younger than the champion, an inch and a half taller, yet with a five-inch reach advantage. Carlos' pro debut was in 2015. Austin's was five years later. Carlos has a 75% KO ratio and has fought 139 rounds.
Austin's pro start was five years later. He has fought 116 rounds and his KO percentage is 68.42%. His record is 19-1, 13 KOs. He scored a recent impressive TKO of Chordale Booker in one round; a UD over Kieron Conway, dropping him in nine, and a UD over Steve Rolls for the IBF North American middleweight, but he fell at the first hurdle against Sheeraz. Time to prove he can get up and step up.
Austin would be wise to use his appreciable reach advantage to box on the outside and avoid being clobbered to the body. But sooner or later, he'll be standing toe to toe with the champion and it's then that nerve, willpower, guile and the will to win will be truly tested. This will be an intense fight and its pace is likely to be demandingly red hot.
These two have got a tremendous tradition to live up to. Middleweight is a glamour division. Some of my particular favourite standard bearers are: Sugar Ray Robinson, Tony Zale, Marcel Cerdan, Carlos Monzon and Marvin Hagler. Dedication is the key, but in boxing, there's no such thing as the name of the game. No play time.
Each would do well to take a wintery leaf out of "Marvelous" Marvin Hagler's bleak and oblique preparation book, when he used to isolate himself monastery style on Cape Cod out of season. The searing winds howled as they rippled and wrinkled the beaches with sand storms, the rain lashed the outer layer of the track suit and the blistering cold necessitated a wholly hat to protect the ears from chapping, preventing frost bite before the fight.
Marvin sent a shiver down the spine as he said: "I trained in Provincetown. Back then they didn't have all the tourists on Cape Cod. Very isolated, very good spot. All you could do was train, run, walk and talk boxing."
This middleweight championship bout will test the skills, abilities and the conditioning of Bronco and Ammo to the limit, but it's also going to be a battle of willpower, determination and sheer grit. As so often… who wants it most and who is prepared to do what it takes to get there?
As the poem Fight Nights Bright Lights stresses: "The ring is a place where there's nowhere to hide and never any pretend. It's a clash of wills, in which one must finally break or bend."
Tale of the Tape
CARLOS “El Caballo Bronco” ADAMES
WBC Middleweight World Champion
Age: 31
DOB: May 7, 1994
Residence: Las Vegas, Nevada
Birthplace: Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Record: 24-1-1, 18 KOs
Total rounds: 139
World championship fights: 1-0-1
Height: 5’10” – 178cm
Reach: 72.5” – 184cm
Stance: Right-handed
Manager: Self-managed
Trainer: Bob Santos
AUSTIN “Ammo” WILLIAMS
WBC #6 Middleweight
Age: 29
DOB: May 3, 1996
Residence: Palm Beach Gardens, Florida
Birthplace: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Record: 19-1, 13 KOs
Total rounds: 116
Height: 6’0” – 183cm
Reach: 78” – 198cm
Stance: Left-handed
Manager: Sam Katkovski
Trainer: Kevin Cunningham
WBC Top 10 Middleweight Champions
1. Ray Leonard (US)
2. Bernard Hopkins (US)
3. Carlos Monzon (Argentina)
4. Marvin Hagler (US)
5. Nino Benvenuti (Italy)
6. Gennady Golovkin (Kazakhstan)
7. Emile Griffith (Virgin Islands)
8. Gerald McClellan (US)
9. Sergio Martinez (Argentina)
10. Rodrigo Valdez (Colombia)
WBC Middleweight Facts
32 world champions have been recognised by the WBC, nine of whom have regained the title: Dick Tiger (Nigeria), Emile Griffith (Virgin Islands), Nino Benvenuti (Italy), Carlos Monzon (Argentina), Rodrigo Valdez (Colombia), Julian Jackson (Virgin Islands), Keith Holmes (US), Sergio Martinez (Argentina), Canelo Alvarez (Mexico).
113 WBC middleweight world championship fights have been held in WBC history.
Betting Odds
4/11 Carlos Adames
14/5 Austin Williams
18/1 Draw
