It's a tough night at the office for anyone who faces Brandon Adams, and the junior middleweight contender is getting increasingly anxious for his chance to clock in for work.
Adams (26-4, 16 KOs) hasn't fought since beating Serhii Bohachuk in a September 2025 rematch. After blasting Bohachuk in March 2021, Adams convincingly bested the Ukrainian by unanimous decision in a sequel that was staged on the undercard of Terence Crawford's win against Canelo Alvarez at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
Adams even earned a Performance of the Night bonus for his efforts, but hasn't fought since. He had the opportunity to face Caoimhin Agyarko in an IBF title eliminator on April 11, but pulled out of the fight on weigh-in day when he was hospitalized after collapsing in his hotel room due to chest pain.
Now healthy, the 37-year-old Los Angeles native is adamant that he's here to stay at 154 pounds.
"I'm a promotional free agent and am looking for a big opportunity. I want to get back in the ring," Adams told The Ring. "I've been around, and I have a fan-friendly fighting style. I'm a bruiser. I'm a brawler. I'm a versatile and experienced boxer.
"Everybody is fighting everybody within my division, and I need to as well. But no one is calling out my name, which I find crazy. I'm the phantom. I'm the real-life ghost of our division, the real boogeyman. I'm one of those blue-collar workers. I understand that boxing is a business, but it's kind of strange how things sort of happen in a way that isn't in my favor.
"You know what you are going to get. I know I can beat these champions, but there are steps and procedures to fight the champions, and I need to stay active in a hot division with great fighters. I need to keep my name resonating at the top."
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One potential fight in the works for "The Canon" Adams is against Rashidi "Speedy" Ellis (28-1, 19 KOs).
"The fight against Ellis is what my manager Mark Habibi is trying to put together and make happen," Adams said. "It's a great matchup, and Rashidi has been ranked at the top, too. He's one of the fastest guys in the division, and he's been avoided. He's experienced. But my skill set and what I bring to the table will get the job done. I am very much looking to fight somebody, whether it's Rashidi or an even bigger name."
Adams also had the opportunity to face Bakhram Murtazaliev in another IBF title eliminator this summer after Murtazaliev's promoter, Kathy Duva of Main Events, secured a $361,000 purse bid in May. But Adams opted out of the encounter because he was unwilling to fight in Russia.
"I was more worried about my safety and wanted the fight to take place on a neutral site, just because of what's going on around the world," Adams said. "I didn't want a fight turning into anything political, but we couldn't get a neutral site."
Adams is still rated as the next highest available contender by the IBF at No. 3 and is ranked No. 2 by the WBC. After previously overcoming promotional issues and three years of inactivity following the first Bohachuk fight, Adams wants to ensure he won't be wasting any more time moving forward.
"I want these opportunities. I deserve these opportunities. I want to get in the ring and show why I deserve to be a world champion," Adams said. "It's extremely frustrating, but I'm resilient. I have the name. Everybody knows who Brandon Adams is, but I don't have the celebrity behind my name. So, I'm a huge threat to a lot of guys because they know it's going to be a rugged night against me.
"I'm the kind of guy that steps into the ring and ages fighters. I can see why I'm not the first guy they want to fight. I will be avoided because of how hard I come to fight. I have an extra level that people have not been able to see yet, and it hasn't been drawn out in previous fights, and I want to prove that."
Manouk Akopyan is The Ring’s lead writer. Follow him on X and Instagram: @ManoukAkopyan.
