Brandon Adams couldn’t care less who won the back-and-forth Vergil Ortiz-Serhii Bohachuk clash earlier this month.
He has more important things to worry about, including winning the Overtime Boxing junior middleweight tournament. First, he must get by Francisco Veron.
“I’ve never watched this fight so far,” Adams told The Ring. “I didn’t want to watch it. That was my belt. I wasn’t active. That wasn’t my call to be inactive. They reactivated him as the champion as if he won that fight. He did what he was supposed to do, defended his belt. But he was defending my belt. And that’s the joke I always say.
The Adams-Veron 10-round semifinal bout takes place Friday on DAZN from Overtime Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. It is paired with the other tournament semifinal between unbeatens Andreas Katzourakis and Robert Terry.
Junior featherweights Elijah Pierce and Jose Sanmartin also meet on the same card.
Adams (24-3, 16 knockouts), who lives and trains in the Los Angeles area, was mentioned a few weeks ago as a talking point regarding Ortiz-Bohachuk.
Ortiz (22-0, 21 KOs) prevailed via unanimous decision in their Aug. 10 thriller in Las Vegas. There were many viewers who felt Bohachuk (24-2, 23 KOs) did enough to win in their leading Fight of the Year candidate.
The loss to Ortiz was Bohachuk’s second of his pro career. The other defeat came at the expense of Adams via come-from-behinf knockout in March 2021.
Adams had no interest in catching a Ortiz-Bohachuk replay for a variety of reasons. He is convinced he is a better fighter than Bohachuk. The resurgent contender also questions whether Ortiz has the power to be a top fighter at 154 pounds.
“I didn’t watch that fight because that’s what keeps me hungry,” insists Adams, who has won three straight. “Not the fact that it’s Bohachuk. I’m not going to lie. I normally rarely never say this, how I view myself, (but) I’m above Bohachuk. Truthfully I’m happy he’s doing good. I’m happy he’s doing well, but I’m better than him. That’s not the level in which I wanted to stop at. If he’s one of the top fighters today, I nudge myself above the likes of him.
“It showed that night (against Bohachuk), even though the ring was how it was, you kept seeing me land the same few punches the whole night until he couldn’t answer the bell. The guys that are facing him because he’s one of the top guys, or they want to prove themselves. It’s all about staying sharp, staying mentally focused, staying mentally strong. And match that with my physicality.”
Adams knocked out Ismael Villarreal in the third round on April 19, his most recent ring appearance. He will face a unbeaten fighter in Veron (14-0-1, 10 KOs), who represented Argentina in the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
It is a compelling clash between young fighter and seasoned veteran. Adams views his experience and current outlook on the sport as his edge.
“He is the type of fighter that I once was,” said the 35-year-old Adams, who made his pro debut in March 2011. “He should be ready for this kind of test. Him being one of the best fighters from his country and then trying to become one of the best fighters in the world.
“I would be one of those guys who you want to display your skill-set on. In the same breath, I wouldn’t want to be that exact guy who you want to put your inexperienced fighter in against. As time has shown, I grow. I get better as time progresses. I’m looking to go out there and show different skill sets, but also show that I can dominate at this level and above.”
Prior to the win over Villarreal, Adams had not fought since the knockout win over Bohachuk. He was in the gym, training and sparring contenders and top prospects in and around his weight class.
It was during this point when Adams self-reflected more about his career. Changes were made to provide more longevity and success. The tactic has worked as he is one win away from the final of the tournament, which includes a cash prize and a clearer path to a major title shot.
There are many intangibles Adams credits. Wisdom and maturity are chief among them.
“Honestly, there’s a bunch of angles,” said Adams. “It’s a bunch of angles. Let’s use a nice word, like postponed. Without fighting. That gave me the opportunity to learn a lot more about myself. I was able to grow and mature. When I was younger, I did it because I had to. I didn’t even know how to properly make weight. But now, I do things a little different. I listen to my body a lot more. There’s so many things I do completely different from when I used to. I’m much more mature. When I look at my beginning stages and how I once was, I’m way more advanced, mentally and physically. From the mental standpoint for me, it was the hunger of sitting around and watching all of these other fighters.
“We just seen Bohachuk and Vergil Ortiz just fight and I’m the only person who stopped Bohachuk. And Bohachuk is a tough guy. You see that fight and he ate everything that Vergil threw at him. All it took was for me to hit him with a solid punch, one good solid punch, and that changed the whole night. For me, I’m looking for these opportunities to keep showing, to keep displaying out towards the world my capabilities and to keep advancing and to keep growing.”
As far as where Adams rates himself, he believes he is amongst the best in the division.
“As far as how I grade myself, I have everything it takes to be ‘it’. I’m strong, physically. Punching wise. I’m quick enough., just as quick as the quickest fighters. I’m just as fast as the fastest fighters in our division, just as strong, if not stronger. This isn’t the game of getting hit, but I’m sturdy. I got great ring IQ, understand how to utilize my body in the ring. I have all the qualifications to be a world champion; I even speak clear. That’s how I view myself and I never really put myself against anybody because I will always be against everybody. I don’t see myself losing against anybody. I can only beat myself at this point.”
Adams is grateful to be fighting on a platform as Overtime Boxing/ OTX Boxing. He hopes to achieve history by not only fighting for a world title belt, but also being the first fighter to do so under the Overtime Boxing/ OTX Boxing banner.
Adams has fought in a handful of boxing tournaments, including the ESPN ‘Boxcino’ and ‘The Contender’ series. He always fell short, but hopes to reverse the trend and become the OTX champion.
“At this point, I’m like some kind of tournament king,” noted Adams. “I’ve been in almost every tournament that exists in boxing except the [Showtime] Super Six in the last ten years. After this—and the way Overtime is promoting their fighters—they’re trying to promote everybody. And the ones who do super well, the ones who can actually do very well for Overtime, obviously—they’re going to do a little more. Right now, I’m that guy. Quietly spoken or loudly. I’m that guy who can make the noise. I’m that guy people can say ‘Look he was on Overtime. He did this. He fought in this tournament. Right after the tournament, look at what he’s done. Look at his success. He’s right there at championship contingency.’
“This is not just great for me, Overtime, my community. This is great for everyone who was kicked down and thought that was the end. And then they say, I can’t give up. It’s a piece of me that just don’t know how and kept going. This is great for boxing. This is a great story.”
Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. He can be reached at santio89@yahoo.com
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