Yoenli Hernandez is one of the few who would make for an intriguing bout against the Dominican. Adames, though, is having none of it when it comes to a bout with the undefeated Cuban.

“We can’t mention his name with mine,“ Adames said during a post-fight media scrum Saturday, after dominating Austin Williams by unanimous decision at Caribe Royale. “There’s levels to this game, and I’m way above him. He’s not at that level yet to even be mentioned with me.”

Hernandez (9-0, 8 KOs), The Ring’s No. 2 middleweight, is also ranked No. 1 by the WBA and No. 4 by the WBC and WBO. He faces Terrell Gausha in a 10-round middleweight bout on the undercard of Sebastian Fundora-Keith Thurman next weekend in Las Vegas on Prime PPV.

Adames faced Gausha in his first title defense in June 2024 and won a wide unanimous decision.

Adames (25-1-1, 18 KOs), the Ring’s No. 1 middleweight, delivered a dominant performance Saturday. It was Adames’ third successful title defense and ended a nearly 13-month layoff. His last fight was a controversial split draw that most believed he won against Hamzah Sheeraz in February 2025.

Adames, 31, set the tone early, dropping Williams (20-2, 13 KOs) in the second round with a straight right hand and seemingly couldn’t miss with it. Williams, 29, held his own and found success when he let his hands go, capitalizing on his speed advantage.

The Elias Pina, Dominican Republic, native’s championship pedigree showed as the fight progressed, as he connected with straight right hands and landed eye-catching counter shots at will. Williams, The Ring’s No. 8 middleweight, tired in the second half and fought in spurts.

Adames won 118-108 and 117-109 twice across the judges’ scorecards. He outlanded Williams 254-127 and 176-78 in power shots, according to CompuBox. Adames was also super efficient, connecting with 45.1 percent of his power punches.

Adames and Williams were originally scheduled to fight Jan. 31, but the former withdrew due to complications with his weight cut that led to him being hospitalized. The fight being pushed back made for a contentious build-up.

“I never let what he said get to my head,” Adames said. “I always knew I was levels above him. You can see that I’m a professional. He got nervous, he got mad, he started talking nonsense and the only times I responded was when he said offensive words. You could see the levels of professionalism.”