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'Bones' About It! Adams Regains Jr. Featherweight Title
Feb. 14, 2013 -- It's been a long road back to the top for Clarence "Bones" Adams.
The inaugural LSUBF Jr. Featherweight champion made four successful defenses of the title before losing the belt in March 2011 via 11th round stoppage against Salim Medjkoune.
He was due a mandatory rematch within a year, but Medjkoune lost the title to Yober Ortega in January 2012, his second defense. The loss meant Adams' shot could be pushed back, if he even received it, as Ortega could choose whether to face Medjkoune or Adams to fulfill the mandatory rematch clause.
Ortega went 11 months without defending, finally putting the strap on the line against Yoddamrong Sithyodthong, whom he defeated by unanimous decision, to meet the #1 contender requirement.
Adams meanwhile had been dormant, trying to regroup. He lost a unanimous decision to Willie Jorrin on Christmas 2011, and fought only once in 2012, a tuneup bout against Steve Molitor.
But when the time came that Ortega was forced to choose between Medjkoune and Adams, he chose Adams.
Nearly two years since losing the title, Adams got his chance to reclaim it, and did so in close but unanimous fashion, earning a 143-142 *2, 145-142 decision to once again become champion.
Ortega set a furious pace, but Adams stayed measured throughout the contest. Ortega's aggressiveness may have proven counterproductive in the eyes of the judges, as for all his volume he landed only 17% of his punches, compared with 35% for Adams.
In the final tally, it seemed the judges gave Adams virtually every close round, including the last two - a pair of uneventful "championship rounds" that lifted Adams to victory.
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