WBC world champion Carlos Adames fights Wales’ Gerome Warburton on Saturday, live on Sky Sports Mix from 4pm.
Adames is the reigning WBC middleweight world champion but is tuning up for major title fights next year with a non-title bout against Warburton at a 165lb catchweight.
Adames has an impressive track record. Undefeated at middleweight he’s taken top-class wins over Sergiy Derevyanchenko, Julian Williams, Terrell Gausha and Austin Williams. He was unfortunate to be held to a draw against Hamzah Sheeraz, too.
Warburton, a former Welsh champion, has not operated at that level, but this fight with Adames offers him a route to the elite end of the division, if he can score an upset.
The Welshman though is coming off back-to-back wins over Nathan Heaney, the former British champion who defeated Denzel Bentley, who went on afterwards to win a world championship.
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Bentley, stripped of his WBO title before his recent victory over Shane Mosley Jr, is gunning to become a world champion once again. He will be a close observer of Adames vs Warburton. Bentley is targeting 2027 fights with Adames and IBF titlist Aaron McKenna.
“Early next year, I’m ready to go again,” Bentley told Sky Sports. “I’d love another world title shot. McKenna or Adames, seeing as those are the two middleweights who are at this [Zuffa Boxing] stable with us and they are world champions. Those two are my priority.”
He does think Adames will win and be in position to fight for his world title in 2027.
“Congrats to Warburton for getting such a massive fight. I know it’s not for the title but he’s fighting a champion,” Bentley said.
“I expect Adames to come through that,” he continued. “Warburton’s a good boxer, a nice slick boxer but doesn’t carry the power to give Adames any respect or stop him in his tracks.
“Adames is going to walk him down and probably get him out of there. I’d rather see Warburton go the distance. He’s done well in his career.”
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But he added: “Adames gets him out of there, pretty early if I’m being honest.”
He will be waiting for Adames. “If he’s well enough to go into his mandatory early next year, we can fight maybe summer, a little bit after the summer,” Bentley said.
“I’ll be happy to wait till after the summer, if it’s guaranteed [to be] Adames. If it’s not, then I’d like to get out early next year. But if it could be him I’d be happy to wait for that.”
Watch Carlos Adames fight Gerome Warburton this Saturday live on Sky Sports Mix from 4pm.