Key points:
- The WBC has ordered Carlos Adames to face the winner of Jesus Ramos Jr. vs Meiirim Nursultanov on September 19
- The order rules out an immediate unification fight against WBO champion Denzel Bentley
- Adames is also barred from taking an intervening bout while he waits for the September 19 result
- Adames last defended his WBC title with a unanimous decision over Austin Williams in March
Carlos Adames’ hopes of unifying middleweight titles against Denzel Bentley have been put on hold, after the WBC ordered him to face the winner of September’s Jesus Ramos Jr.-Meiirim Nursultanov fight instead.
Journalist Dan Rafael reported that the WBC notified all relevant teams of the ruling on Monday, which also bars Adames from taking any intervening bout before the mandatory fight is settled. That closes the door on both the Bentley unification, which Adames had recently called for publicly, and a previously explored move up to super middleweight to challenge Osleys Iglesias, talks for which had already stalled earlier this year.
Ramos has been pursuing a fight with Adames for some time and can secure it directly by beating Nursultanov, the 25-year-old interim champion who earned his position with a win over Shane Mosley Jr. last year. Whoever wins on September 19 heads straight into a title fight against Adames, whose last defence came in March with a unanimous decision over Austin Williams.
For now, the WBC’s order leaves Adames without a voluntary defence to fill the gap, forcing him to wait out the mandatory process before any bigger fight, unification or otherwise, can be discussed again.