Teofimo Lopez vs. Shakur Stevenson undercard loses championship fight day before event
The Teofimo Lopez vs. Shakur Stevenson undercard suffered a major blow on Friday.
The WBC middleweight title fight between Carlos Adames and Austin "Ammo" Williams is off after Adames was forced to withdraw from the bout due to illness just one day out from fight night.
A replacement opponent is being worked on so Williams can stay on the Lopez vs. Stevenson undercard on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Adames (24-1-1, 18 KOs) was set to make the third defense of his WBC middleweight title. The fight would've ended an 11-month layoff for the Dominican, who hadn't fought since a controversial draw with Hamzah Sheeraz this past February — a fight many believed Adames deserved the nod in.
Williams (19-1, 13 KOs) lost his unbeaten record to Sheeraz after being stopped in the 11th round of their June 2024 final eliminator. Since his lone defeat, Williams has won three fights in a row, including a career-best victory over Patrice Volny this past March.
It is a major disappointment for Williams, who was the IBF mandatory for Janibek Alimkhanuly but gave up that position so he could fight Adames on Saturday. With the fight now canceled and with no guarantee of a reschedule, Williams may be left without a title shot.
Elsewhere on Saturday's Lopez vs. Stevenson DAZN pay-per-view undercard, Keyshawn Davis makes his 140-pound debut against Jamaine Ortiz, Bruce "Shu Shu" Carrington and Carlos Castro contest the vacant WBC featherweight title, and heavyweight Jarrell Miller returns against Kingsley Ibeh.
