Jermall Charlo vs Brandon Adams set for June 29, Erickson Lubin in co-feature

Showtime has put together its June 29 card in Houston, headlined by the previously-reported fight between interim WBC middleweight titleholder Jermall Charlo and fringe contender Brandon Adams.

But it doesn’t look like we’re getting the previously reported Marcus Browne-Jean Pascal fight in the co-feature, at least not on this card.

Charlo (28-0, 21 KO) is in a similar position at middleweight that Terence Crawford is at welterweight. At 147, Crawford is with Top Rank and most of the top names are with PBC. At 160, Charlo is with PBC and most of the top names are with DAZN.

That leaves the 28-year-old Charlo scratching for opponents at this point, and that’s how we arrived at Adams (21-2, 13 KO), a 29-year-old fighter best known for competing in C-grade tournaments like ESPN’s Boxcino in 2014 and 2015 and last year’s revived “Contender” run.

“It’s time for me to put up for my city of Houston,” said Charlo. “George Foreman is back and he’s in the middleweight division. That’s the way I feel about fighting in my hometown. You know how hot it gets down here in the summer and no one is going to be able to take this heat that I’m about to deliver.

“I’ve been working hard with Ronnie Shields and making some adjustments and now you’re going to see me back with the knockout power. I know Brandon Adams is looking at this as a big opportunity, but it’s a big step up for him. The pressure isn’t on him. It’s on me, because I’m fighting in my hometown and I’m going to deliver what the fans have come to expect from me.’’

Adams lost in the finals of the 2014 Boxcino middleweight tournament to Willie Monroe Jr, then in the finals of the 2015 Boxcino junior middleweight tournament to John Thompson.

After that, Adams didn’t fight for three years, returning for “The Contender” in 2018, which he won, beating Tyrone Brunson, Ievgen Khytrov, Eric Walker, and Shane Mosley Jr.

But don’t take this all as a shot at Adams, either — Charlo wasn’t the only one trying to fight him in June, as Adams had offers to fight Charlo and Gennadiy Golovkin and chose Charlo. Quite a position for him to be in.

“I am very grateful for the opportunity and ready to prove that I belong in the conversation as one of the top fighters in the middleweight division,” said Adams. “This is an opportunity that I couldn’t turn down. They must feel that I am beatable, and want to use my name that I built up on ‘The Contender,’ so now I need to show why I won ‘The Contender’ and continue my winning ways. Charlo is a solid fighter and he’s a champion for a reason. I look forward to matching skills with him and showcasing my ability.”

Photo by Sarah Crabill/Getty Images

Junior middleweight Erickson Lubin (20-1, 15 KO) will be in the co-feature, facing France’s Zakaria Attou (29-6-2, 7 KO) in a 10-round junior middleweight fight.

Lubin, 23, has won two straight since he was blown out in one by Jermell Charlo in Oct. 2017. Last time out, he looked really good stopping and retiring Ishe Smith, who had never been stopped.

Attou is a 37-year-old French fighter who briefly held the European 154-pound title. Lubin-Attou will be a WBC eliminator.

The opener will see Eduardo Ramirez return against Claudio Marrero in a WBA featherweight eliminator.

Ramirez (22-1-3, 9 KO) got a short notice bump to a Showtime card on March 2, and made it count, stopping Bryan De Gracia in the ninth round of what had been a good fight. His only loss came in 2017 to Lee Selby. Marrero (23-3, 17 KO) is coming off of a 12-round decision loss to Tugstsogt Nyambayar, but he was competitive in that one.