Former world title challenger Brandon Adams was to have headlined a PPV Saturday night in Vegas, but instead, he had to be rushed to a local Las Vegas hospital with chest pains.
Junior middleweight contender Brandon Adams was hospitalized on Friday morning in Las Vegas after collapsing in his hotel room, forcing the cancellation of his anticipated IBF title eliminator bout against unbeaten Irish fighter Caoimhin Agyarko. The bout had been scheduled as the main event of a DMG Boxing pay-per-view card set for Saturday night at The Cosmopolitan Hotel in Vegas, with the winner earning a mandatory shot at 154 lb. titleholder Josh Kelly.
Mark Habibi of Wise Owl Boxing, who manages Adams, told insider Dan Rafael by email Friday that the incident was not related to weight cutting.
“Brandon was experiencing chest pain early (Friday) morning and collapsed in his hotel room and was rushed to the hospital,” Habibi said. “He’s currently been admitted and is undergoing evaluation. More details to follow. He’s absolutely crushed for not being able to participate in this fight.
“He gave everything he had in this camp and was looking forward to being at the doorstep of a world title opportunity. His heart goes out to his opponent Agyarko, who traveled overseas to compete and is looking forward to making this fight happen immediately following his recovery.”
The 36 year old Adams, holds a record of 26-4 with 16 KOs. The Watts, California native previously challenged for a world title in 2019, losing a one sided decision to Jermall Charlo for the WBC middleweight belt. However, he entered this weekend's bout on a strong run, including a dominant decision victory over contender Serhii Bohachuk in his most recent fight.
The 29 year old Agyarko is 18-0, 7 KOs. The Belfast native had an active 2025 campaign, winning three fights, including a split decision over Britain's Ishmael Davis in his last outing. The canceled bout would have marked one of his first appearances outside the United Kingdom, adding to the significance of the opportunity.
Agyarko shared his reaction in a heartfelt social media post, expressing both concern for Adams and frustration over the situation.
“Absolutely heart broken to announce my fight (Saturday) night is off,” he wrote. “Unfortunately, my opponent fainted (Friday) morning and was rushed to hospital then was declared medically unfit to fight. Firstly I hope Brandon Adams is okay and makes a speedy recovery.
"Secondly my dreams have been shattered. I put my heart and soul into this camp/fight. I trained extremely hard. I was in the best shape of my life, 14 hard weeks being away from my family, girlfriend and friends, thousands of pounds spent. Now I don’t get to have my American dream fight. I don’t get paid and I don’t know what happens next, but what I do know is that I will be world champion one day. My mind is bullet proof. I’ve had setbacks many of times and I will not let this stop me from chasing my dreams."
Despite the cancellation of the main event, DMG Boxing confirmed that the rest of the card would proceed as planned. The bout between female bantamweights Chantel Navarro and Perla Lomeli has been elevated to headliner. The card will be available via TrillerTV PPV, PPV.COM, and FUBO beginning at 9 p.m. ET.
In an official statement, DMG Boxing stressed that Adams’ health and safety were the top priority. Medical personnel evaluated him on-site before he was transported by EMTs to a local hospital, where he remains in stable condition.