Ringside Report: Adam Azim Dominates Ohara Davies At The Copper Box

Ringside Report: Adam Azim Dominates Ohara Davies At The Copper Box

By Matt Elliott

Adam Azim produced a dominant and mature display to stop Ohara Davies in round eight last night and can now look forward to 2025 and potential fights with Harley Eubank and Dalton Smith.

You always felt Davies would have to land a power shot early on to earn Azim’s respect and alter his gameplan and while there was a notable left hook in round two, and further counter shots in the third which bloodied Azim’s nose, it only appeared to anger the man from Slough who was relentless in his pursuit of victory. Azim burst onto the scene with a lot of expectation on his shoulders, which was further heightened by his demolition of those early opponents, but this was a different test, and one he passed with flying colours.

After a confident start, in which he worked well behind the left jab, Azim floored Davies in round five with a short, sharp dig to the lower ribs and although he was able to recover, you felt it was inevitable this one wouldn’t last the distance. Davies did have some success in round six and seven, albeit this was limited to counter shots and by this point Azim was able to throw caution to the wind, knowing they lacked the power to hurt him. It was all over in the eighth, when Azim narrowly missed with a right hand, but landed a crunching left hook to the side of Davies’ head, which sent him down onto his knees. His corner waved the towel, but in reality, he wasn’t getting up from the shot, shaking his head in acknowledgement of his fate. Azim celebrated in his corner before paying his respects to an opponent who gave his all, but who was ultimately outclassed and, in his post-fight interview, indicated that he would now step away from the sport.

The decision of Ben Shalom to withdraw Azim from negotiations with Dalton Smith earlier this year drew criticism, but he will only benefit from fights like this, and it feels inevitable that those two will meet at some point in the near future.

In an unusual move, the British and Commonwealth light heavyweight clash between Dan Azeez and Lewis Edmondson was moved to after the main event, but this didn’t defer those who had turned out to support the fighters, with Edmondson in particular well-supported and his fans went home happy as he won a majority decision, with two judges scoring it 114-113 and 115-112 in his favour to overrule the 114-114 card. The fight didn’t quite live up to the usual standard of British title clashes, but Edmondson won’t care as he did enough to have his hand raised, despite a point deduction for holding in round eight. It was a close encounter, and had it been ruled in Azeez’s favour it would have been hard to disagree as he appeared to be the one on the front foot throughout, but that’s three fights without a win for him now and at thirty-five you question how he rebuilds from here.  

It was almost the perfect return to action for Anthony Yarde as he floored Ralfs Vilcans with the first punch of the contest inside five seconds of round one. At that point, many in the arena would have been thinking when, not if, Yarde would force the stoppage but that proved to be a false dawn, as he was made to work hard and dig deep for the victory, which ultimately came via a 98-92 points decision. After recovering from that early shock, Vilcans gave as good as he got, exposing flaws in Yarde’s defensive game, and had his shots carried more power, there could’ve been a different outcome. As it was, Yarde took the victory, banked the rounds, and can surely now look forward to a showdown with Joshua Buatsi, who was sat at ringside.

There was an upset in the IBO welterweight world title fight as Tulani Mbenge produced an almost flawless performance to beat Michael McKinson, the judges scoring it 116-112 x2 and 117-111. Mbenge started slowly and was almost caught cold in the opening round as McKinson grazed him with a left hook that momentarily staggered the South African man. That was about as good as it got for McKinson though, who opted to stand and trade rather than use his superior technical ability, and that proved to be an error of judgement as he tired in the middle rounds allowing Mbenge to gain the upper hand and he pulled away as the fight wore on.

Jeamie Tshikeva came out on top in his English heavyweight eliminator against Franklin Ignatius in a largely one-sided affair. The opening rounds saw little momentum from either fighter, with the busiest man being referee Victor Loughlin, who had his work cut out as he tried to limit the amount of holding taking place. As the rounds passed, the action increased, with Tshikeva doing the better work, although Ignatius seemed able to repel his best shots. The fifth saw Ignatius lose a point for persistent holding, a sign perhaps that the pace was getting to him, and after a sustained attack from Tskikeva in the sixth, Loughlin stepped in to wave it off.

Fran Hennessey won her first professional title, taking home the WBA super-bantamweight intercontinental strap with a 78-74 points decision over the durable Ana De Moraes. After a heated confrontation at the weigh-in, during which plenty of words were exchanged, Hennessey was the more composed in the ring, fighting on the back foot throughout, but showing good shot selection as she countered the threat from Moraes. The Brazilian, knowing she was behind on the cards, threw everything at Hennessey in the final rounds, but the nineteen-year-old handled the pressure well, and will be hoping this is the launchpad for more titles in the future.

Scotland’s Sam Hickey made a winning start to professional life as he dominated proceedings against John Henry Mosquera taking a 40-36 decision. The 2022 Commonwealth Games gold medallist had Mosquera on the back foot throughout, using his left jab to set up the straight right and occasionally mixing in a solid uppercut. On the rare occasion Mosquera threw back, Hickey was alive to the threat and showed good footwork to navigate himself away from danger. With a solid amateur pedigree, it will be interesting to see how far Hickey can go, but the early signs are certainly positive.

In the opening fight of the night, it was disappointment for Shannon Courtenay, who fell to a 58-56 points defeat to Catherine Tacone Ramos. After a two-year absence from the ring, Courtenay was matched against a tough opponent who came to win and pressed the action from the first bell, forcing her back onto the ropes and landing some heavy shots. She had her own moments of success in the early stages, but as the fight moved into the later rounds, it was Ramos doing the better work, and there can be no arguments with the scorecard. Having overcome a number of challenges outside of the ring just to get back to this point, it will be interesting to see what Courtenay chooses to do next.

Photo Credit: Chris Dean/Boxxer