Carlos Adames Signs With Zuffa Boxing, Giving Promotion Three Middleweight Titleholders
WBC middleweight champion Carlos Adames joins Zuffa Boxing ahead of an October 20 deadline, stacking the roster alongside Aaron McKenna and Denzel Bentley.
Carlos Adames has signed with Zuffa Boxing, giving the promotion three middleweight titleholders and a clear path to unification fights at 160 pounds.
Zuffa announced the signing on X, calling Adames "one of the most avoided men in boxing." The WBC middleweight champion and The Ring's top-ranked middleweight joins a roster that already includes IBF titleholder Aaron McKenna and WBO belt holder Denzel Bentley.
The move comes ahead of an October 20 WBC deadline for Adames to finalize a deal for his mandatory defense against Meiirim Nursultanov. If Adames and Nursultanov's camps cannot reach an agreement by that date, the WBC will send the bout to purse bids.
Zuffa did not announce a debut date or opponent for Adames. The obvious starting point is a matchup with McKenna, which would unify the WBC and IBF titles under one roof. Bentley, meanwhile, is set to face Shane Mosley Jr. on November 7 before turning to his own WBO obligations, including top contender Yoenli Hernandez.
Bentley has said publicly that a fight with McKenna would crown the leader of the division. With Adames now in the fold, Zuffa can make any combination of those three fights without dealing with rival promoters. The challenge, per Boxing News 24, is turning those pairings into actual signed bouts.
This is the kind of move that makes Zuffa Boxing a real player at middleweight overnight. Three belt holders under one roof means no more promotional red tape, no more "we tried to make the fight" nonsense. McKenna vs Adames practically books itself.
The WBC deadline on October 20 adds urgency. Nursultanov is the mandatory, and that fight still has to happen, but after that? Zuffa can run a round-robin at 160 that would be the best thing to happen to the division in years. Adames, McKenna, Bentley, all fighting each other. No politics.
I will believe it when the fights are signed, though. Boxing has a way of making the obvious matchups impossible. But if Zuffa actually pulls the trigger on Adames vs McKenna early next year, that is a fight of the year candidate and a statement that this promotion is here to compete with the big boys.
KEEP TALKING FIGHTS.
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