Carlos Adames botches weight cut, withdraws from Austin Williams fight

Carlos Adames was reportedly treated for dehydration

RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA - FEBRUARY 21: Carlos Adames poses for a photo during the weigh-in ahead of his WBC World Middleweight title fight against Hamzah Sheeraz as part of Beterbiev v Bivol 2: The Last Crescendo at Boulevard Fountain on February 21, 2025 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (Photo by Richard Pelham/Getty Images) | Getty Images

As first reported by Keith Idec, WBC middleweight champion Carlos Adames is out of tomorrow’s title defense against Austin “Ammo” Williams after falling ill before weigh-ins. Williams’ team is on the hunt for a last-minute replacement.

Per Lance Pugmire, Adames (24-1-1, 18 KO) was hospitalized due to dehydration. The Dominican slugger has fought just once in the last 19 months, a controversial draw with Hamzah Sheeraz last February that saw him take over down the stretch and arguably deserve an upset victory.

Williams (19-1, 13 KO) is 3-0 since a significantly less successful effort against Sheeraz in 2024, the best win a hard-fought decision over veteran Patrice Volny last March. While the obvious move on paper would be to reschedule this matchup once Adames recovers, that’s not guaranteed, as Adames is long overdue for a mandatory defense against Meiirim Nursultanov. We recently saw a similar sequence of events play out with the IBF when super flyweight champ Willibaldo Garcia withdrew from a planned voluntary defense against Kenshiro Teraji, only to get slapped with an order to battle Andrew Moloney.

Of course, that’s the IBF and this is the WBC, so who knows. We’ll let you know if “Ammo” finds a new dance partner.

Category: General Sports