Adams and Agyarko Agree IBF Final Eliminator for April 18

Junior middleweight contenders Brandon Adams and Caoimhin Agyarko have reached an agreement for an IBF final eliminator scheduled for April 18, avoiding a purse bid that had been looming earlier in the week. The fight is expected to take place at the Toyota Arena in Ontario, California, pending formal confirmation.

Adams enters the fight as the more established name. A California native and former winner of The Contender, he is seeking his first world title opportunity since a loss to Jermall Charlo in 2019. After an extended period of inactivity that included a three-year absence from the ring, Adams re-established himself with consecutive wins over Serhii Bohachuk.

He later added a unanimous decision victory over previously unbeaten Francisco Daniel Veron before dropping a narrow split decision to Andreas Katsourakis. Earlier losses to Willie Monroe Jr and Apollo Thompson remain part of his record, but his recent activity has kept him positioned near the top of the division.

Agyarko enters unbeaten but with a thinner margin in recent outings. His split decision win over Troy Williamson remains the most notable result of his career, but 2025 proved challenging. He earned a majority decision over Ryan Kelly in April and was dropped before securing a decision win against Ishmael Davis in September. The Adams bout will mark his first fight outside Europe and his first appearance at this level of competition.

The winner will become the mandatory challenger for IBF junior middleweight champion Bakhram Murtazaliev.

Murtazaliev is known for sustained pressure and power in both hands. Both Adams and Agyarko have shown vulnerability in past fights, making the mandatory position a difficult reward. The eliminator offers advancement, but it also places the winner directly into one of the division’s most demanding title fights. Going through one war only to have to step straight into another one with the dangerous puncher Murtazaliev is a tough ask.