Stoic has always been one of the appropriate words to describe Carlos Adames. Each win, no matter how violent he took his opponents out, resulted in the Dominican native simply shaking his head before having his hand raised by the presiding referee.
There was one moment, however, where Adames broke character. Late last year, the 29-year-old cracked the will of Juan Macias Montiel, resulting in a third-round stoppage victory. His win over the fringe contender was nothing to be over the top boastful about but it was more so what it signified. With the WBC continuing its proliferation of world titles, the sanctioning body placed the middleweight interim tag on the line.
Adames fell to his knees and screamed loud enough that they could hear him in the Dominican Republic. Becoming a title holder, albeit a secondary one, has always been a dream of Adames. That achievement, while important, now comes with a long list of obligations.
Last month, at the Armory in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Adames (23-1, 18 KOs) defended his crown for the first time against Julian Williams. But before Adames took care of business, Erickson Lubin left him a pernicious warning, both in and outside of the ring.
Lubin, 27, bullied Luis Arias, eventually stopping him dead in his tracks in the co-main event. Shortly after, Lubin revealed that he would love to face the winner. And, with Adames coming out on top, Lubin now has his eyes on him.
Once just a highly touted contender, Adames was seldom called out. Now, with his position elevated, Adames is finding out that just about everyone is launching their bows and arrows in his direction. The latest challenge is one that Adames isn’t losing sleep over. If Lubin wants a crack at him, he’ll have to grab a ticket and have a seat in the waiting room.
“Tell him get in line,” Adames told Broadway Joel during a recent interview. “The line is long.”
Lubin (25-2, 18 KOs) recently doubled down on his call-out, going as far as to say that Adames is a “beatable” fighter. If the 27-year-old’s demands are eventually placated, he’ll have to move up in weight, something he acknowledged would be no issue.
The target on Adames’ back might be gigantic but he’s hoping to push some of those contenders to the side and line up against one of the middleweight division’s champions.
Brushing past Lubin isn’t what the Florida native wants to hear but that doesn’t mean that Adames doesn’t envision a future clash. For now, Adames is preaching patience.
“His moment will come.”