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Brandon Adams is ready for “The Biggest Fight Of My Career” Against Jermall Charlo

Jermall Charlo faces off against Brandon Adams. Photo by Andrew King/Showtime
Fighters Network
26
Jun

A few years ago, Brandon Adams was in boxing limbo. The junior middleweight from Norwalk, California, had been inactive for a third-straight year and questioned where he was in his boxing life and where he was going, which at the time, appeared to be nowhere fast.

Fast forward to 2018 and Adams was given a second chance, as a participant on The Contender. He won, and in turn, resurrected his career.

This Saturday in a tripleheader on Showtime (9PM ET/6PM PT) from the NRG Arena in Houston, Texas, Adams (21-2, 13 knockouts) will be taking on undefeated Jermall Charlo (28-0, 21 KOs) in a 12-round middleweight main event in Charlo’s backyard headlining a hometown fight for the first time.

Adams justifiably calls it “the biggest fight of my career.”



“This is the step up,” Adams said. “This is the biggest fight of my career. My first opportunity to fight on Showtime, to fight in front of a huge crowd like this, to fight a guy in his hometown who brings what he brings to the table. But I appreciate it all, man.

“I’m looking forward to challenge myself, to show that, the three years that I had off and what they meant to me, whether if it was good or bad, to put it all on the line and bite down and get through this one and then reflect on it all.”

Beating Charlo would be a life-changing, and career-changing experience for Adams.

“Well, to be quite honest, I don’t know exactly what it would do for my life at this particular moment,” Adams said. “I haven’t won it yet, but I can imagine that it could definitely make me feel good beating a guy like Jermall. It could definitely build the confidence a little higher than what it is.

“I definitely need to build the confidence a whole lot more, but I was already confident and believed in myself from day one. I’m sure it, it will do wonders for my morale and everything. But I don’t know exactly what it would do for me at this particular moment because I haven’t won just yet. I know the skies could be the limit.”

Charlo will have some pressure to deal with, but he says he’s ready. Fighting in front of a hometown has its advantages, and major disadvantages, like trying to accommodate anyone he’s ever known in his life with tickets and time—probably in that order.

“It feels good to be at home,” admitted Charlo, who fought twice previously in Houston on undercard bouts. “It feels good to be able to have the hometown fans behind me and become the hero here but I’m locked in. I’m loaded. I’m ready for everything Brandon has to present to me, and I’ll deal with it as it comes, just as well as the crowd.

“I’m not distracted. It’s all been fun. It’s a big experience for me. This is my first time fighting in my hometown in seven years. So the first time actually I helped sell tickets. And now it’s like, I’m not really a part of that ticket thing. So I just want to tell you that I’m focused. I’m locked in.”

The undercard will consist of super welterweight Erickson “Hammer” Lubin facing Zakaria Attou in a 12-round WBC title elimination bout in the co-main event. Featherweight southpaw Eduardo Ramirez and Claudio Marrero will open the Showtime telecast.

“I hope everybody is prepared,” Adams said. “I hope everybody is ready. I hope everybody is just as excited as we are. And Jermall, man you already know, bro. It’s go time. Looking forward to sharing that ring with you. Stay blessed.”

Said Charlo, “I’ll be damn if I let anybody come to my hometown and take something from me. So I hope everyone is prepared and I’ll be ready.”

Joseph Santoliquito is the President of the Boxing Writers Association of America and has written for The Ring/RingTV.com since 1997. He can be followed on twitter @JSantoliquito.

 

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