Judges Michael Tate (118-108), Dave De Jonge (117-109) and Efrain Lebron (117-109) all scored their fight for Adames, who had a point deducted by referee Christopher Young with 2:02 to go in the 12th round for another low blow.

The win marked Adames’ third successful title defense. The Dominican Republic’s Adames and Milwaukee’s Williams were originally scheduled to fight January 31 on “The Ring 6” undercard, but Adames withdrew the morning of January 30 after being hospitalized due to complications from his weight cut.

Adames (25-1-1, 18 KOs) is The Ring’s No. 1 contender for a vacant championship. Williams (20-2, 13 KOs), The Ring’s No. 8-ranked middleweight, entered their fight on a four-fight win streak.

“I feel like I’m the best at 160 right now,“ Adames told DAZN’s Chris Mannix in his post-fight interview. “I’m ready for whatever is to come.” Adames out-landed Williams 254 to 127 in total punches and 176 to 78 in power shots, per CompuBox.

The fireworks began early between Adames, 31, and Williams, 29. After finding success with his straight right hand in the opening round, Adames doubled up with it early in the second and sent Williams to the canvas. Adames sought the finish and landed several more big shots, but Williams weathered the storm and landed a pair of big straight left hands later in the round as he worked his way back into the fight.

Both fighters had their moments in the third and fourth round. Adames continued to connect with straight right hands, Williams’ advantage in speed was evident when he let his hands go.

Adames began to pull away in the fifth round, as he asserted himself as the aggressor and kept Williams along the ropes and landed the bigger shots. Adames’ defensive prowess also helped him seize control and Williams’ output began to dwindle.

The action reached its peak in the sixth round, as both fighters connected with shots that appeared to affect the other. Adames emerged better from it, and he took back control of the fight as he continued to push Williams back and peppered him with counter shots and straight right hands.

“I knew I’m a really accurate puncher,“ Adames said. “I knew I couldn’t miss with that shot. Whenever I wanted to land it, I landed it. I knew coming into this fight I had that weapon on the table and I used it at will.”

Adames’ championship pedigree showed in the second half, as he stayed on the front foot, landing straight right hands and connecting with counter shots at will as Williams faded. Williams sparingly had his moments, but his punches didn’t have anywhere near the same effect as Adames.

“I knew he was going to come in hard for 10 seconds but then he was going to get tired after that, I would take over and win the round,” Adames said. “That’s why I said he was going to be easy work for me, and it was. With all due respect, he’s not on my level.”

Adames appeared to visibly affect Williams again in the 11th round with a straight right hand that knocked his mouthpiece out.

The point deducted from Adames in the final round motivated Williams, who threw flurries of punches once the action resumed, though his last stand ultimately fell short.

“There were certain shots I was looking to find and he was able to negate that,” Williams said. “It was a good performance from him. I can’t say I was too shocked or surprised. I was looking for shots to get the knockout. I knew coming in to try and take a title, I would have to get a knockout or something of that caliber, and he was able to withstand some things I thought he wouldn’t be able to.”