Boxxer: Adam Azim & Tyler Denny Taste European Glory in Wolverhampton

Boxxer: Adam Azim & Tyler Denny Taste European Glory in Wolverhampton

Boxxer has received a lot of criticism over recent times, a lot of it unfairly so, but on Saturday night in Wolverhampton, they put on a show, that in many ways, offers a real glimpse of what is to come.

Ben Shalom could be excused for showing a few grey hairs after a difficult 2023, which has been blighted by a multitude of injuries to some of his star names, and with the loss or delay of several Sky Sports PPV events, the standard of his product has been hit accordingly. But the show at The Halls in Wolverhampton is hopefully the start of a massive upward trajectory for the new kid on the boxing block.

Shalom and Boxxer went to the midlands, picked a venue that was fit for purpose, packed the undercard with local fighters and the two main fights on the card offered a little bit of European tinsel to his stable. But even before the two European title fights, Richard Riakporhe showed his power and that he is a real threat to the rest of the cruiserweight division. Riakporhe might have gone a little under the radar compared to others who reside in the Boxxer cruiserweight ranks, but that is likely to change in 2024. He could very easily be the last man standing in twelve months time.

But in the short term, Adam Azim and Tyler Denny will quite rightly take most of the immediate headlines after both claimed European glory in front of a sold-out and extremely vocal Wolverhampton crowd.

Azim was patient and extremely impressive in beating the French veteran Franck Petitjean to claim the European super-lightweight bauble in ten one-sided rounds. The result was never in doubt, and Azim gave a performance of real star quality. It will be difficult to hold Azim back, but another year of gradually stepping up the levels next year will not do the 21-year-old any harm at all. But come 2025, Azim looks to have everything that you need to win a multitude of world titles.

Tyler Denny has overcome a rocky road and is a real-life Rocky story. The win in seven rounds over the Italian Matteo Signani has put the lid on a quite remarkable turn of fortunes for Denny. Those early setbacks are now a thing of the past, and he is now very much looking forward and not back. Many will say the European middleweight title is as far as the story will go, but they would also have said it wouldn’t have gone this far. Denny is only 32 and could quite easily write a few more big chapters yet. The story could go further still.

Boxxer will finish the year strong. Chris Billam-Smith will defend his WBO cruiserweight titles next month in Bournemouth, and 2024 will start in a similar vein as well. On January 20th, an enticing and intriguing IBF world welterweight title fight between Natasha Jonas and Mikaela Mayer will headline in Liverpool and the rescheduled domestic dust-up between Joshua Buatsi and Dan Azeez lands in London the following month. In Azim, Caroline Dubois, and Ben Whittaker, Shalom has three fighters who would grace any stable. All of them could develop into true superstars. Boxxer will hope their luck is changing, and their promising stable can start to flourish and reach its potential in the next twelve months. There is no reason why it shouldn’t.

Photo Credit: Lawrence Lustig/Boxxer