Brandon Adams’ tough pro career, including a recent controversial loss, spawned a new mentality that has led him to an IBF junior middleweight title eliminator.
Adams will face Caoimhin Agyarko on Saturday at The Chelsea in the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas. The winner is mandatory for Josh Kelly’s title.
Adams lost a split decision to Andreas Katzourakis in November 2024. The defeat was exhausting. It was another bad break in a career fueled by long layoffs and hard-luck losses.
Adams lost his unbeaten record in 2014 to eventual title contender Willie Monroe Jnr. A year later, he would get knocked out by Apollo Thompson (then known as John Thompson) in the Boxcino junior middleweight tournament finals.
After a three-year layoff, Adams would move up to middleweight and win the reboot of “The Contender,” defeating Tyrone Brunson, Ievgen Khytrov, Eric Walker, and Shane Mosley Jnr in the finals. This would set the stage for him to face WBC middleweight titleholder Jermall Charlo. He would lose that June 2019 fight by unanimous decision.
Adams would win two fights afterward, including a knockout victory over Serhii Bohachuk in 2021. Yet inactivity plagued him again. He wouldn’t fight for another three years, until he entered the OTX junior middleweight tournament. Adams lost to Katzourakis in the finals, which served as a turning point, as he felt he didn’t deserve to lose.
“It changed me,” Adams told BoxingScene. “I can’t rely on referees. I always knew you couldn’t rely on judges. To experience a loss that was truly a win, that channeled and transformed me into something totally different.”
After the loss, Adams waited for an opportunity. It came 10 months later in a rematch with Bohachuk. Adams won a dominant unanimous decision, displaying a fierce side that he hadn’t shown in prior bouts.
“I have so much of a ‘fuck that’ attitude than ever,” Adams said. “I have always had that attitude, but it was a lot friendlier, and from a competitive side.”
Agyarko, 18-0 (7 KOs), is coming off a split decision win over Ishmael Davis in September. Agyarko, a 29-year-old from Belfast, Northern Ireland, will fight in the United States for the first time. For Adams, Agyarko is another top-rated fighter he must face to reach the title.
“I think he is a good fighter,” Adams said. “But being a good fighter won’t be enough to beat me.”
Adams now gets the chance to move away from a career of hard fights and setbacks.
“This moment means I am that much closer to becoming a world champion,” Adams said. “It separates me from an older version of myself.”
Adams will be the headline attraction for his new promoter, DMG Promotions, topping the biggest show the company has put on so far.
“I am here, and I am going to take advantage of every opportunity I can get,” Adams said. “It is time for me to become a champion.”
