Brandon Adams hopes OTX tournament brings new life to his career at 154 pounds

It is a new chapter in the career of Brandon Adams.

Older and wiser, Adams is committing himself again to the goal of trying to become a world titleholder at 154 pounds.

Adams will face Ismael Villarreal Friday night at the OTE (Overtime Elite) Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. The 10-round bout will precede the main event bout between unbeaten junior welterweight Kurt Scoby and Dakota Linger. Both fights will stream live on DAZN (8 p.m. ET/ 5 p.m. PT).

At Thursday’s weigh-in, Adams weighed in at 153.6 pounds. Villarreal came in at the junior middleweight limit of 154 pounds. 

Adams (23-3, 15 knockouts), who was born in the Los Angeles suburb of Lynwood, has not fought since scoring a knockout win over Serhii Bohachuk in March 2021. Adams was trailing on all judges’ scorecards at the time of the stoppage. Bohachuk now owns the WBC interim world junior middleweight title. 

The 34-year-old hoped to continue the momentum, but was not able to secure something concrete after the Bohachuk win. Proposed fights were not finalized, frustrating Adams, but he is glad a fight was finalized and getting the opportunity to move on with his career.

“It was three years of waiting for a phone call telling me a fight was finalized,” Adams told The Ring Monday. “There was a rematch lined up with Serhii. His people stated that he was winning the fight until the knockout. That he slipped, which led to the knockout and that this didn’t do him justice.

“I never wanted to take a hiatus. From the business side of it, I wanted to fight. Things between my promoter (Banner Promotions) and Serhii’s people were never agreed to.”

Despite a rematch against Bohachuk never coming through or a fight against another junior middleweight, Adams remained in the gym, never giving up hope he would eventually return to the ring. 

“I stayed determined,” said Adams, who is now managed by Mark Habibi. “I didn’t have any quit in myself. I was always in the gym. I was staying busy. I just stayed true to myself. I never knew when the opportunity was going to come, I just had to stay ready when it did.”

Adams not only stayed in the gym, but he also sparred some of the top fighters in the sport. He was a sparring partner for Dmitry Bivol in preparation for Bivol’s fight against Canelo Alvarez in May 2022. 

The number of rounds Adams sparred or the times Adams trained alongside Bivoi gave him reaffirmation, according to Adams, he was meant to stay in the sport and continue to pursue his dream and ambition as a prizefighter.

“I helped Bivol in his preparation for the Canelo fight,” said Adams. “I actually worked hard during that training camp. From all that work, especially with Adams in the ring, let me know I belonged. I compared my skills to his and it felt good realizing where I was at. I like to be pushed and challenged and I know I can do more than hold my own in the ring.”

Adams will face a fighter in Villarreal (13-2, 9 KOs), who has had modest success as a pro. In his previous fight on November 9, Villarreal lost by unanimous decision to unbeaten Callum Walsh. Villarreal did score a knockdown of Walsh in the fight.

The Adams-Villarreal fight will be part of the inaugural The OTX Tournament. The winner moves on to the semi-final, which takes place in late summer. 

Adams is not overlooking Villarreal, but is confident there are bigger and more-lucrative opportunities in the future. He is just glad to be back in the ring.

“This is what it takes. Activity is what could make me a household name. I want to seize the moment and show what kind of fighter I am. I respect (Villarreal), but I honestly know I’m better than him.

“I don’t want to be average. I want to be better. I want to prove I can do it all in the ring. I just know, given the opportunity, no one in the division can beat me.”

Also taking place Friday night, as part of the The OTX Tournament will be a 10-round bout between Angel Ruiz (18-2, 13 KOs) of Tijuana, Mexico squaring off against Argentina’s Francisco Veron (13-0, 10 KOs).