Turki Al-Sheikh has pulled his financial offer for a major middleweight title unification bout after champion Carlos Adames allegedly ignored negotiations. The head of Saudi Arabia's General Entertainment Authority expressed frustration with the WBC titleholder's lack of response to what he described as a generous proposal.
"Carlos wasted my time and lost his chance for a three-title fight. I made him a generous financial offer, and he waited 5 days without responding and ignored us. I can't understand this, so I'm withdrawing the offer," Al-Sheikh stated firmly.
The Saudi boxing promoter had been attempting to organize a significant unification showdown between Dominican fighter Carlos Adames (24-1-1, 18 KOs) and Kazakhstan's Janibek Alimkhanuly (16-0, 11 KOs), who currently holds both the WBO and IBF middleweight belts.
According to Al-Sheikh, the issue lies entirely with Adames rather than the Kazakh champion. "Janibek has no problems; the problem is with Adames. He made a mistake and needs to fix it," he added.
Interestingly, Adames last stepped into the ring in February this year in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The Dominican fighter faced British boxer Hamza Shiraz in a contest that ended in a draw, allowing Adames to retain his WBC title at 72.6 kg (middleweight).
The collapse of these negotiations represents a missed opportunity for the middleweight division to crown a unified champion. Will Adames reconsider his position, or has this potentially career-defining opportunity slipped through his fingers for good?
