Brandon Adams could soon have two options for title shots at 154lbs.
Adams, 26-4 (16 KOs), is already due to fight Caoimhin Agyarko in an IBF elimination bout on April 11 for the right to challenge new titleholder Josh Kelly. And now the 36-year-old California resident has moved up into the No. 1 position in the WBO’s junior middleweight rankings.
That’s thanks to Kelly.
Kelly had previously been in the first spot in the WBO’s rankings at 154lbs. But sanctioning bodies tend to remove fighters when they challenge for other organizations’ titles. Kelly would go on to defeat Bakhram Murtazaliev for the IBF belt on January 31.
Adams, who was previously No. 2, moved up to fill the vacancy in the WBO’s latest ratings update, which was released on February 2.
The WBO titleholder is Xander Zayas, who successfully added the WBA belt after triumphing over Abass Baraou in a unification bout on January 31.
This is quite a turnaround for the veteran Adams. He was a mainstay of boxing tournaments, losing a unanimous decision to Willie Monroe Jnr in the Boxcino middleweight finale in 2014 and getting surprisingly stopped in two rounds by Apollo Thompson in the Boxcino junior middleweight finale in 2015.
Adams triumphed in the fifth season of “The Contender,” widely outpointing Shane Mosley Jnr to win it all in 2018. That helped Adams land his only title shot, challenging Jermall Charlo for the WBC middleweight belt in 2019. Charlo nearly shut Adams out on the scorecards.
Adams then put together a four-fight winning streak, including an eighth-round TKO of the previously unbeaten Serhii Bohachuk in 2024. He once again made it to a tournament finale while competing in Overtime Boxing’s junior middleweight competition. Alas, Adams got the short end of a split decision against Andreas Katzourakis in that November 2024 finale.
But Adams scored a big win this past September, clearly outpointing a resurgent Bohachuk in their rematch. That helped land Adams high up in the rankings – he is also seated at No. 2 by the WBC – and put him in position for these opportunities.
Adams is followed in the WBO’s ratings by Tim Tszyu at No. 2 – a questionable re-entry into the rankings seemingly solely on the basis of a December win over Anthony Velazquez. Then come Keith Thurman, Israil Madrimov, Baraou, Murtazaliev, Rashidi Ellis, Giovani Santillan, Adrian Marcelo Sasso, Milan Prat, Freddy Kiwitt, Julian Vogel, Ryota Toyoshima, Marco Ezequiel Garcia Ovejero and Yoenis Tellez.
The WBO’s ratings update indicates it reflects results as of January 15, but it seems as if the actual cutoff was January 31. For example, the dethroned Baraou and Murtazaliev, who both lost that day, are now in the junior middleweight rankings. But light heavyweight Oleksandr Gvozdyk, who was knocked out on Radivoje Kalajdzic on February 1, remains at No. 4 at 175lbs while Kalajdzic has not yet entered the rankings.
David Greisman, who has covered boxing since 2004, is on Twitter @FightingWords2. David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” is available on Amazon.
