Carlos Adames made his third defense of the WBC middleweight title in dominating fashion Saturday.

Adames won a 12-round unanimous decision over Austin “Ammo” Williams in the main event at Caribe Royale in Orlando, Florida. The scores were 118-110, 117-109, and 117-109.

The fight started tensely. Neither fighter gave an inch. That could have been due at least in part to the frequent trash talk in the lead-up to the fight. Adames, a Dominican who trains in Las Vegas, was set to face Williams, of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, in January, but he was hospitalized the day of the fight, causing the bout to be postponed.

The first notable moment of Saturday’s fight came from Adames, who dropped Williams with a straight right hand in Round 2. Williams appeared to buzz Adames with a wild shot when Adames locked in. After this point, Adames began to use calculated pressure, forcing Williams to fight off his back foot, a strategy that doesn’t particularly suit the front-foot power puncher. The fight showed a skill difference between Williams, seeking a big punch to turn the fight, and the more-polished Adames.

A right hand in the fifth round from Adames, 32, saw blood flow from the nose of Williams. Adames began to target Williams’ body in the sixth round, as Williams spent the majority of the round on the ropes, looking fatigued. Williams rallied back, but he wasn’t all that effective. Adames landed a left uppercut that rocked Williams in Round 8, and round after round, he continued to pressure his opponent.

In the final few rounds, Williams had moments when he landed big shots, but he couldn’t sustain them. Adames continued to bully Williams, knocking his mouthpiece out in the 11th round. In the 12th, Adames lost a point for a low blow to Williams. Despite the point deduction, it was a clear victory for Adames, who silenced any critics who questioned how he would perform after the 13-month layoff since he fought Hamzah Sheeraz to a split draw.

Adames, 25-1-1 (18 KOs), is unbeaten since his move up to middleweight, with his last loss coming to Patrick Teixeira in a junior welterweight interim title fight.

The 29-year-old Williams saw his four-fight win streak snapped, and fell to 20-2 (13 KOs).

Lucas Ketelle is the author of “Inside the Ropes of Boxing,” a guide for young fighters, a writer for BoxingScene and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Find him on X at @BigDogLukie.