The WBC have elevated interim middleweight titleholder Carlos Adames to full champion.
The development came hours after news broke that long-time WBC beltholder Jermall Charlo was arrested on Monday in Texas and charged with three misdemeanors related to a DWI, fleeing the scene of a traffic accident, and eluding police.
The WBC released the following statement on Tuesday:
“The WBC has provided and will continue to do as much as possible to support Jermall Charlo during his difficult times with regard to mental wellness.
“The WBC Board of Governors has decided to confirm Carlos Adames as the WBC reigning middleweight champion as he is being elevated from interim champion to WBC World Champion.
“The WBC will closely work with PBC in securing the best course of action to attend to Jermall's needs at this moment in time.
“After a thorough evaluation of the situation and understanding of the facts and times, the WBC may rank Jermall in super middleweight.
“Carlos Adames has been exemplarily supportive of every action taken by the WBC in support of his fellow peer throughout this time. Congratulations.”
Adames (23-1, 18 KOs) learned of the news on his birthday and called it the “best present.”
“Remember that God's timing is perfect,” Adames wrote on social media.
Adames’ ascent came during Charlo’s struggles.
Charlo (33-0, 22 KOs) was the WBC’s interim middleweight champion beginning in 2018 and full champion since 2019 but has been battling mental health issues since 2021.
The 33-year-old from Houston defended his title three times in five years but not once since 2021. Over the last three years, critics called for the WBC to strip the inactive Charlo, but WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman maintained his support of Charlo.
Charlo returned from a 25-month layoff in November to face Jose Benavidez Jr. The non-title fight was at a 163-pound catchweight but Charlo came in 3.5 pounds overweight in an eventual decision win.
Charlo has since been linked as one of the next possible opponents that undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez has been considering, but the fight seems far-fetched with each passing day.
Adames joins a group of champions at 160 pounds that includes WBO and IBF titleholder Janibek Alimkhanuly IBF and WBA beltholder Erislandy Lara.
“Welcome to my club. Congratulations,” Alimkhanuly told Adames on social media on Tuesday. “Now you’re world champion, let's make a fight.”
Adames originally captured the vacant interim WBC middleweight title in October 2022 when he blasted Juan Macias Montiel via third-round knockout. The Dominican native followed up his performance last June by scoring a ninth-round TKO win against former unified super welterweight champion Julian Williams.
"Bronco" Adames, 30, is riding a five-fight winning streak since suffering his lone career loss to Patrick Teixeira during a 154-pound title fight in 2019.
Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer, and broadcast reporter. He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan, through email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com, or via www.ManoukAkopyan.com.