By Francisco Salazar
Carlos Adames thinks highly of himself that he wants to fight the best fighters at 154 pounds. He also believes he can one day fight and defeat Canelo Alvarez.
Adames must get by a stern test against a fighter who is on a winning streak and would love nothing more than to pull off the upset win.
The unbeaten Adames will face Patrick Day tonight at the Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula, California. The 10-round bout will precede the main event bout between IBF lightweight titleholder Richard Commey and Ray Beltran.
At Thursday’s weigh-in, Adames weighed in at 154 pounds. Day weighed 153.3 pounds.
The 25-year-old Adames, who is originally from the Dominican Republic and now resides in Washington Heights, New York, has impressed since signing on with Top Rank early last year. In his last bout on Apr. 20, Adames stopped fringe contender Frank Galarza in the fourth round in New York City.
Adames (17-0, 14 knockouts) has stopped his last three opponents.
Patrick Day (17-2-1, 6 KOs), who resides in Freeport, New York, has won his last six fights, all by decision. In his last bout on Feb. 2, the 26-year-old Day defeated prospect Ismail Iliev of Russia by unanimous decision in Frisco, Texas.
Despite Day’s pedigree and recent success, Adames is confident he can defeat him.
“He has decent ability and I know he moves a lot,” Adames told Boxingscene Thursday afternoon. “He beat the favorite (Iliev), but he was okay. I know I can dominate Day because of my attitude and I prepared very well for this fight. I looked good in my last fight and I will look better (against Day).”
Adames has been training with Robert Garcia in Riverside, California for the last several months. Adames has benefited from working with one of the best trainers in boxing, but also being around world titleholders and contenders.
“I get great sparring there at the gym,” said Adames, who is ranked in the top 10 by all major sanctioning bodies, with a No. 4 ranking by the WBA. “I go there and I get great work with Robert Garcia.”
Adames believes a win over Day will lead to a world title opportunity. That will remain to be seen with the boxing politics and the current world titleholders at 154 pounds are aligned with Premier Boxing Champions (PBC).
Despite that, Adames believes he can win a world title and challenge at 160 pounds as well. With the support of family and friends in the United States and in the Dominican Republic, Adames’ attitude and confidence is at an all-time high.
“Once I beat Patrick Day, I will be one step closer to fighting for a world title. I want to fight everybody. I even want to move up to 160 pounds and I fight Canelo (Alvarez).”
“I have a great amount of support. My family and friends and all those in the Dominican Republic want and with the best for me. I’m motivated to do my best because of them, my family, my friends and my manager.”
Francisco A. Salazar has written for Boxingscene.com since September of 2012 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (Calif.) Star newspaper. He can be reached by email at santio89@yahoo.com or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing
