Carlos Adames Wants To Beat J Roc, Meet Jermall Charlo

Carlos Adames defends his interim WBC middleweight title against former unified champ Julian “J-Rock” Williams this Saturday, June 24 live on SHOWTIME (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT) from The Armory in Minneapolis, a Premier Boxing Champions  favorite venue.

The pairing is, in fact, intriguing, to me.

For one reason, I respect the grind both athletes have gone through to get here. So, it’s a perseverance check.

Michael Woods: This Showtime main event, pitting Carlos Adames against J Roc Williams, is in fact intriguing

“My time will come where I will show the world that I’m the best middleweight,” said Adames, who was born in the Dominican Republic and makes NY his home base. “A dominant victory on Saturday night will ensure me a fight with Jermall Charlo to see who the real WBC middleweight champion is. It’s been very difficult to get the big names in the ring with me, but I just have to keep winning.”

The 29-year-old Adames (22-1,17 KOs) has been one of those guys whose rise has been impacted by the Covid slowdown, and inactivity.

He didn’t fight at all in 2020, made up ground with three fights in 2021, and gloved up just once in 2022/2023. He scored a decision over Sergiy Derevyanchenko end of 2021, see video of that clash below:

Most recently, Adames snagged a third-round KO of Juan Macias Montiel.

He trains in Las Vegas with head man Bob Santos.

“I had an incredible training camp in Las Vegas with my coach Bob Santos,” said Adames in a release. “We put in a lot of hard work and got some excellent sparring with some very good fighters. My road work was taken to the next level, with a lot of running in high elevation. I’m eating the best foods and feeling great.”

J Roc Williams A Solid Vet

Williams is no bum. He’s 33, though, some will assume this is a changing of the guard fight.

The Philadelphia-native defeated Jarrett Hurd in 2019, to capture the WBA and IBF titles at 154. He dropped straps to Jeison Rosario in his first defense. He lost a tight decision to gutty Vlad Hernandez after thinking about maybe hanging up the mitts for good. His last outing came 11-5-22, when he beat journeyman Rolando Mansilla in Minnesota.

“I see Williams as a dangerous opponent,” said Adames. “He’s a former world champion who has a lot of experience and he has nothing to lose at this point in his career. I’m expecting a tough fight, but I feel I’m the better fighter in every aspect. I feel I can break him down and end the fight in the middle to late rounds.”

This is the first SHOWTIME main event for Adames, on Saturday night.

“This is another great opportunity to showcase my talent on the big stage,” said Adames. “SHOWTIME is where the stars are born. I can’t wait to show my people back in the Dominican Republic, and here in the U.S., all the hard work that we put into this camp. This is my first main event on SHOWTIME and I’m going to take full advantage of the situation. My goal is to win by spectacular knockout.”