Bold headline: A title shot reignited for March 21, as Ammo Williams gets his long-awaited opportunity.
Austin “Ammo” Williams, now 20-1 with 13 knockouts, is slated to challenge WBC middleweight champion Carlos Adames. BoxingScene has confirmed that plans are back on for a March 21 collision on a Matchroom Boxing card streamed on DAZN from Caribe Royale in Orlando, Florida. The report originally came from Ring Magazine’s Mike Coppinger.
The two top-rated middleweights were set to square off on January 31 for Ring Magazine’s VI show at Madison Square Garden in New York City. But Adames, 20-1-1 with 14 KOs from the Dominican Republic, fell ill on the eve of the final weigh-in and received treatment for dehydration, forcing him to withdraw from the voluntary defense. Williams stayed on the card and defeated late replacement Wendy Touissant in a one-sided victory in a super middleweight bout. Competing at a career-high weight, Williams took the opportunity to lock in a title shot rather than waste a full training camp.
Adames remains obligated to make a mandatory defense of the WBC 160-pound title. The sanctioning body, however, has shown considerable leniency by delaying the matter. Kazakhstan’s Meiirim Nursultanov has sat atop the mandatory ladder for more than two years, but inactivity stalled any progress, despite two orders for a bout that never materialized.
Both fighters will have to wait a bit longer, as Williams was contractually guaranteed his first title opportunity. In a show of commitment, Adames and his team honored the pledge to revisit the situation, even amid rumors that he might move up to 168 pounds.
Adames will attempt to make the third defense of the full WBC belt. He previously held the interim title for two years before the WBC upgraded the title after deeming the interim holder Jermall Charlo inactive. Following the upgrade, Adames outpointed Terrell Gausha over 12 rounds in June 2024.
In his latest ring appearance, Adames fought to a disputed 12-round draw with unbeaten Hamzah Sheeraz last February in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, a result many considered unlucky for the champion.
The rescheduled bout would keep Adames out of the ring for roughly 13 months. Williams, meanwhile, has gone 3-0 in that period, a testament to Matchroom and manager Sam Katkovski for keeping him active despite hurdles. The 29-year-old Houston-based southpaw faced emergency replacements in his last two bouts, most notably losing a July 19 IBF title eliminator opponent when Etinosa Oliha failed a medical exam during fight week.
A significant risk came with Williams agreeing to face Adames, especially given the potential impact beyond the ring. Taking the fight could jeopardize his IBF title shot, which might become available again depending on the Janibek Alimkhanuly drug-testing ruling. Yet with strong backing, Williams’ fortunes appear to be improving once more.
UPDATE: Matchroom Boxing has officially announced the matchup and added that the undercard will feature junior middleweight prospect Omari Jones, 5-0 (4 KOs), and heavyweight prospect Teremoana Teremoana, 9-0 (9 KOs), with opponents to be announced.
Would you like this article reworded with a more even-handed tone, or kept with the same energetic framing but adjusted for a broader audience? And should I tailor the rewrite for a casual boxing fan, or a more general sports readership?
