Carlos Adames finally has a clear path to the full WBC middleweight strap.
A title consolidation bout will be ordered pending the outcome of the November 25 Jermall Charlo-Jose Benavidez Jr. non-title fight, the WBC confirmed during the Ratings and Mandatory portion of its 61st annual convention Wednesday in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
Houston’s Charlo (32-0, 22KOs) holds the full version of the middleweight title, while Dominican Republic’s Adames (23-1, 18KOs) is the interim titleholder. The fight was not even considered this time one year ago during the 60th annual convention, despite Adames making the trip to Acapulco to plead his case.
The reason for the extended delay was the WBC’s full support of Charlo during what has been a 29-month ring absence to conquer personal battles and mental health issues. As much was noted during last year’s convention, which came one month after Adames scored a third-round knockout of Juan Macias Montiel to win the interim title.
Charlo has not fought since a decision win over Montiel atop a June 2021 Showtime card from Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. He was due to headline at the same venue last June but withdrew due to a back injury. The event was canceled outright as it was learned that he was not prepared to return to the ring as he sorted out a number of personal issues.
Charlo is now prepared to resume his career. However, his WBC middleweight title—which was upgraded in June 2019 after previously holding a secondary version of the belt—will not be at stake, since Phoenix’s Benavidez is not ranked ahead of their Showtime Pay-Per-View co-feature from Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas.
Adames last fought on June 24, when he scored a ninth-round stoppage of former unified junior middleweight titlist Julian ‘J-Rock’ Williams in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The win was the fifth in a row for the 29-year-old Dominican, who does not currently have a fight scheduled and will likely wait until after November 25 to see if the WBC moves forward and orders the title consolidation bout.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. X (formerly Twitter): @JakeNDaBox