WBC middleweight champion Carlos Adames is preparing for his next move and hopes that is a fight with WBO and IBF ruler Janibek Alimkhanuly.

However, unified champion Alimkhanuly – who this weekend faces Anauel Ngamissengue – has designs on moving up to face super middleweight leader Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, and told BoxingScene this week that Adames does not figure in his plans.

Adames, who said he’s feeling good several weeks on from his disputed draw with Hamzah Sheeraz on February 22, is recovering and doing some light workouts at his home in the Dominican Republic, and he wants unification fights.  

“My team told me that if I beat Sheeraz, I would get my fight against Janibek and I think that my next fight will be him,” Adames told BoxingScene through a translator. “That’s the fight I want, and that’s the fight I think I will get. I think he is a good fighter, he has his belts. I think he’s a good fighter but I don’t think he’s good enough to beat me.”

Adames has been quietly building as a force at 160lbs. He’s unbeaten at the weight and now 24-1-1 (18 KOs). Many believed he deserved the decision against Sheeraz in February, and he holds victories over Terrell Gausha, Julian Williams and Sergiy Derevyanchenko.

A common theme, as exhibited in the build-up to Sheeraz, is that the 30-year-old Adames is handed underdog status. With Janibek in possession of two belts, Adames would see that same scenario happening.

“Yes, I think they’ll write me off again and I would love them to do that,” Adames added. “That only motivates me more.”

Adames, who said he would like more activity in 2025, understands the narrative and is content to play along. He knew he was supposed to cede his title in Saudi Arabia to Riyadh Season ambassador Sheeraz, who had already been widely anointed as the future of the division.

“Usually people underestimate me,” Adames continued. “They underestimate my ability usually because they don’t know my strength and don’t know my ability but boxers who have experience, they know my level and they don’t underestimate me. But Sheeraz, I believe he did underestimate me. I believe he thought that because it was in his country [Sheeraz is from England, but the show had a British commission and British promoters] and he’s taller than me. I believe he thought he could beat me. I love when they underestimate me. It just motivates me more. Even when the oddsmakers put me under, as the guy who’s going to lose, I end up being the winner so I don’t really care who says I’m better or worse. I just care about the result.”

It is that ambition that has the other champions in his sights, but the Sheeraz fight was not without controversy and Adames has his own opinions both on the scores and the actions of powerbroker Turki Alalshikh, who went to Sheeraz’s corner to urge him on to victory during the fight. The British Boxing Board of Control and the WBC were happy that there was no wrongdoing, but Adames said it was mostly the scorecards that bothered him.

“What really offends me is what they did to me there in Riyadh, me fighting a great fight and beating him and still getting the draw,” he said. “That, for me, is a great offense and a big shame on the sport. In my case, I didn’t have anyone to go to my corner and tell me my score. If they make him [Sheeraz] such a warrior, and if he’s such a warrior, he shouldn’t get that privilege either. I think in boxing you should just let the two fighters fight it out and not give that type of advantage to anybody. Even if they say there was no foul play, it was just completely unjust. You can’t do that. Even with that, he lost the fight and they wouldn’t accept it. They had to call it a draw.” 

A rematch with Sheeraz is one Adames is open to, although some have speculated that the gifted Sheeraz might move up to 168lbs. 

“He’s good,” Adames admitted. “It wasn’t the result I worked for, I worked to get the win and I believe I should have gotten the win. Sheeraz is a great fighter but he’s still young and has a lot to learn and I believe that night I was superior to him. Look, there are levels to this. And 168 is a different level of difficulty compared to 160 and that’s what weight classes are all about. The higher you go, the more different challenges you face. Whatever he decides, whether it’s to go up to 168 or stay at 160, I’m still available at 160, I’m still one of the most feared fighters at 160, so whatever he decides is up to him, but I’m gonna be open to facing him again at 160 if he’s willing and able to.”

The middleweight division has had criticism of late for a lack of starpower, but Adames believes he is the star that shines brightest at 160, and will be for the foreseeable future.

“The ones who say this weight division is quiet, they’re not the ones who get in the ring to fight,” he explained. “I fought the best, and I’ve proven not only with words but with my ability and performances that I can beat the best and I am one of the best. I fought Sheeraz, who was supposed to be the next big thing in the division, I also fought Derevyanchenko, so the people who say that are completely wrong.”

As Adames talks in the midday sun in his home country, the palm trees behind him don’t budge. There’s no wind and in quieter moments he admits that, when he’s on the road defending his title, it can seem like a dream. 

“It is surreal but also this is what I worked for all my life,” he said. “This is what I trained for and it’s always a pleasure to be on those big stages.” 

Tris Dixon covered his first amateur boxing fight in 1996. The former editor of Boxing News, he has written for a number of international publications and newspapers, including GQ and Men’s Health, and is a board member for the Ringside Charitable Trust and the Ring of Brotherhood. He has been a broadcaster for TNT Sports and hosts the popular “Boxing Life Stories” podcast. Dixon is a British Boxing Hall of Famer, an International Boxing Hall of Fame elector, is on The Ring ratings panel and is the author of five boxing books, including “Damage: The Untold Story of Brain Trauma in Boxing” (shortlisted for the William Hill Sportsbook of the Year), “Warrior: A Champion’s Search for His Identity” (shortlisted for the Sunday Times International Sportsbook of the Year) and “The Road to Nowhere: A Journey Through Boxing’s Wastelands.” You can reach him @trisdixon on X and Instagram.