Brandon Adams is making his comeback to the ring after a hiatus, set to fight Ismael Villarreal this Friday. The 10-round bout is scheduled to take place at Overtime Elite (OTE) Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, preceding the main event featuring undefeated junior welterweight Kurt Scobee against Dakota Ringer.
Both matches will be streamed live on DAZN starting at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.
The Adams vs. Villarreal fight is part of the inaugural OTX tournament, with another matchup on April 19th between Angel Ruiz (18-2, 13 KOs) from Tijuana, Mexico, and Francisco Veron (13-0, 10 KOs) from Argentina.
Quarterfinal matches for the tournament will continue on May 31st.
Adams (23-3, 15 KOs), residing in Whittier, California, last fought in March 2021, claiming a knockout victory over Serhiy Bokhatyuk. Although behind on judges’ scorecards at the time of the stoppage, Adams emerged victorious. His absence from the ring for over three years since then has not been officially explained, but he has stayed active in the gym and recently inked a management deal with John Habibie.
Villarreal from Bronx, New York, holds a record of 13-2 with 9 KOs. In his last fight on November 9, he suffered a unanimous decision loss to Callum Walsh, marking his second defeat in four matches, with the other loss against Ardrial Holmes Jr. in February.
All tournament fights are set for 10 rounds, with winners advancing to the summer semi-finals and a tentative late 2024 final. In case of a draw after 10 rounds, a tie-breaking round will settle the winner.
The junior middleweight tournament victor will earn a cash prize and a promotional deal with OTX.
Further matchups on the May 31st card include Andreas Katsoulakis (12-0, 10 KOs) facing Kudratillo Abdukakhorov (20-2, 12 KOs) and Robert Terry (11-0, 0 KOs) against Vladimir Hernandez (14-6, 6 KOs) hailing from Jersey City, New Jersey.
Francisco A. Salazar, a long-time contributor to The Ring, has been covering boxing since 2000. He also reports on boxing for the Ventura County Star. For inquiries, reach out to him at: [email protected]
