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On October 8 from Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California, top middleweights Carlos Adames and Juan Macias Montiel will square off for the interim-WBC middleweight title in a Showtime televised co-main event.
The card will be headlined by a junior middleweight clash between Sebastian “The Towering Inferno’’ Fundora and former title challenger Carlos Ocampo.
Adames (21-1, 16 KOs) is quickly becoming a force in the middleweight division as he nears his first world title opportunity at 160 pounds. He fought three times in 2021, scoring two KO victories and earning a majority decision over top contender Sergiy Derevyanchenko in his last fight on December 5.
The 28-year-old Adames was born in Comendador, Dominican Republic and now lives in Washington Heights, New York. He established himself as a contender with a slew of victories over the likes of former champion Carlos Molina, Frank Galarza, Joshua Conley and Alejandro Barrera, with his only defeat coming by narrow decision in a 2019 154-pound title fight against Patrick Teixeira.
“I’ve been waiting patiently to get back in the ring and bring the fans another war,” said Adames. “Being in a fight like this has me motivated like never before. A win against a tough fighter like Montiel will do wonders for my career. I’ve been eager to showcase what I’ve been working on and show the fans that I’m the next middleweight star. On October 8, I’m going to get one step closer to becoming the first Dominican middleweight world champion of all time.”
The 28-year-old Montiel (23-5-2, 23 KOs) showed his grit and determination in the ring as he battled for 12 grueling rounds against middleweight champion Jermall Charlo in June 2021. He slugged it out with Charlo and came up short in a unanimous decision loss to the world champion, but improved his stock as a contender. Fighting out of Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico he bounced back six months later with a third round KO victory over Christian Soto Valvarde on December 22.
“I made the mistake not taking it up another level against Jermall Charlo,” said Montiel. “That will never happen again. I’m thankful to my team for another great opportunity and I’m going to make the most of it. This time when Carlos Adames is hurt, and he will be, he is going to sleep. I learned my lesson about letting opponents escape.”