By: Sean Crose
“Never confuse a single defeat with a final defeat.” So said the great writer F Scott Fitzgerald. Although he’s been dead since 1940, there’s little doubt that Fitzgerald’s advice still rings true today. This is especially true for boxers, who can be written off by fans and analysts as a result of a single loss. Such harsh critics would do well to take the advice of the legendary Sugar Ray Leonard: “”If you never know failure, you will never know success.” Indeed, 20s heavyweight icon Jack Dempsey referred to a champion as “someone who gets up when he can’t.” The lesson here? That adversity, and even defeat, can lead to much bigger and better things.
Leading up to Saturday night’s WBC middleweight title bout in Orlando, Florida, both Carlos Adames and Austin “Ammo” Williams were determined to prove that a loss isn’t the sign of a career coming to an end. Sure enough, defending champion Adames boasted a record of 24-1-1, his lone defeat coming from Patrick Teixeira back in 2019. Challenger Williams slipped in between the ropes on Saturday with a record of 20-1. His lone loss came at the gloved fists of the hard hitting Hamza Sheeraz, who was able to stop Williams back in 2024. Of note was the fact that Adames fought Sheeraz to a draw in early 2025.
The opening round saw the 29 year old Williams try to pressure the 31 year old Adames behind a southpaw jab. By the end of the chapter, however, Adames was the one applying pressure. Williams got tagged by a hard shot that sent him to the mat. He was able to get back on his feet, but but he had clearly been hurt by the champion. By the time the round ended, though, Williams had appeared to have regained his composure. Adames pushed the action in the third, but Williams was employing a tight defense and was able to land on his own. The action was temporarily halted in the fourth thanks to a low blow from the defending champion. After the battle resumed, Adames spent the round throwing heavy leather.
Adames controlled the tempo in the fifth, backing Williams up and firing heavy leather at will. By the middle of the fight, both fighters decided to exchange. Williams did well, but it was clear Adames was the stronger fighter, one who was breaking his man down. By the end of the sixth, Williams looked like a man who was truly getting beaten up. Credit had to be given to Williams in the seventh, though, for he was still tossing off punches in the hope of making something happen. Yet Adames was completely at ease be that point, clearly comfortable that the rest of the fight was his.
Williams was able to have a good first half of the eighth, though the champion’s thudding punches – especially to the body – were telling the story of the night. The pace slowed down a bit early in the ninth, yet Adames’ crunching punches continued to take their toll. Still, Williams kept firing away, sometimes quite effectively, in the hope of changing the tide of the match. Williams unloaded on Adames in the tenth, but he wasn’t able to change the tempo of the fight, as the majority of the round belonged to Adames. By the eleventh Williams was severely hurt by Adames. It was beginning to truly look like the gutsy challenger might not make the final bell.
To his everlasting credit, Williams was able to survive both the eleventh and the twelfth and final round (where Adames lost a point courtesy of another low blow). Williams had clearly been outgunned, however, which was why Adames was granted a unanimous decision win courtesy of the judges. “I’m just a really accurate puncher and I just couldn’t miss with that shot,” Adames said afterward. “With all due respect he’s just not on my level,” he said of Williams. And so Williams stepped out of the ring with a bruised face and a second loss on his resume. There was no shame in his performance Saturday night, however, no matter what becomes of his career.
As for Adames, he looked terrific against a game and tough challenger. Any memory of a single loss should have gone out the figurative window after the champion’s performance in Orlando. “He did a great job,” Williams admitted afterward. It was a hard argument to refute.
