By Ian S Palmer
The Interim WBC World Middleweight Title is up for grabs this Saturday, October 8th as Carlos Adames of the Dominican Republic squares off against Juan Macias Montiel of Mexico. The 12-round bout from Carson, California can be seen live in America on Showtime while fans in Canada can catch it on TSN 4. Adames last fought in December when he outlasted Sergiy Derevyanchenko by a 10-round majority decision while Montiel last saw action in December as well when he stopped Christian Valverde in the third round.
The 28-year-old Adames fights out of the New York area, in Washington Heights and carries around a record of 21-1 with 16 Kos. He’s boxed 103 rounds since making his pro debut in 2015 following a fine amateur career. He competed at the 2013 World Amateur Championships, won a gold medal at the 2012 Pan American Youth Championships, reached the quarterfinals of the 2012 World Youth Championships and won a bronze medal at the 2013 Pan American Championships.
Since turning pro he’s captured the WBA Fedecaribe, and WBA Fedelatin Welterweight Titles, the NABF, and WBO NABO Super Welterweight Crowns. His lone loss came to Patrick Teixeira via a unanimous decision in November, 2019 in a shot at the interim WBO Super Welterweight Title and was dropped in the seventh round along the way.
Adames hasn’t fought many other top level boxers up to now other than Teixeira and Derevyanchenko but also has wins over Patrick Day, Frank Galarza and Joshua Conley. He’s 5-feet-11-inches tall with a 73-inch reach and has pretty good power in his punches with a current knockout ratio of 76.2 per cent but has gone the distance in three of his last five fights.
Montiel is also 28 years old and like Adames, carries plenty of power as he owns a mark of 23-5-2 with all 23 wins coming by way of knockout for a current knockout ratio of 76.7 per cent. He’s boxed 109 rounds since making his pro debut in 2009 when he was just a 16 year old. His first loss was a four-round majority decision to Rodrigo Escalante in 2010 and he dropped a nine-round split decision to Alejandro Barrera in 2015 in a shot at vacant WBA Fedecentro Welterweight Title.
He then lost an eight-round split decision to Jhony Montano in 2016 and was stopped in his next bout in the second round by Jaime Munguia. His last defeat came at the hands of Jermall Charlo when he dropped a wide unanimous decision in a shot at the WBC Middleweight Title. Montiel’s two draws came with Josue Perez over six rounds in 2012 and against Hugo Centeno Jr in 2019.
Montiel is six-feet-1-inch tall with a 70-inch wingspan which gives him a two-inch edge in height on Adames but he gives up three inches in reach. His biggest wins so far have been against the likes of James Kirkland, Marco Reyes and Ivan Montero. So far, Montiel has fallen just short when stepping up in class and despite his power has gone the distance in two of his last four outings.
Prediction…
Adames is a solid boxer with good skills while Montiel either knocks you out or doesn’t win. He always has a puncher’s chance of course but I’m expecting Adames to come out on top of this battle, which should be a good one.
