Beyond The Ropes: Adam Azim

Beyond The Ropes: Adam Azim

The performance that Adam Azim served up on Saturday night against the former world champion Sergey Lipinets was on the whole one of maturity. A seriously talented fighter who is developing into something really special. Yes, there were issues with repeated low blows that were admittedly inadvertent but were nevertheless a slight cause for concern. Azim, at 22, can be forgiven for such minor infractions. He is, after all, a fighter still refining his craft. But it will still be another lesson learned. He might not yet be the complete fighter, but make no mistake, he is well on his way to being exactly that. What he showed us against Lipinets was a little glimpse of what is still to come.

Azim was beyond impressive at that old iconic Wembley Arena. Lipinets has seen better days. There is no argument on that score. A still proud warrior who soaked up virtually everything that Azim threw at him. Which was plenty. The 9th round intervention was perfectly timed by the referee Steve Gray. It was just starting to get a little uncomfortable. Sad even. Lipinets had taken enough. It wasn’t a case of saving him for another day. There shouldn’t be another day. Enough is enough. The facial features alone tell us that. Retirement is hard for every fighter. But it doesn’t have to be harder than it needs to be. Quality of life after boxing should overrule one last desperate search for something that has long since gone.

But Azim is at the beginning of his boxing journey. The European super-lightweight title long discarded. That decision should have come much sooner. It had already served its purpose long before Dalton Smith and Eddie Hearn used it for point scoring. Team Azim should have seen that issue coming and avoided it. But in balance, I’m not sure whether Smith chasing that European title himself has done him any real favours either. Smith has somewhat stalled his own advancement, chasing a fight that clearly wasn’t going to happen. Points might have been scored in the PR rumble outside of the ring, but at what cost. Both sides could easily have handled it better. Thoughts on the future don’t always need the benefit of hindsight. A little bit of foresight would eradicate any embarrassment and the need to explain certain things away.

That said, Smith and Hearn are quite rightly banging the drum for a fight with Azim. A fight right now increases their chances of victory. All in the Dalton Smith business will know Azim will only get better. Smith, you would assume, is far nearer to being the finished article. Fighter and promoter also know they can talk with the safety net of knowing the fight is highly unlikely to happen in the short term. But as tiresome as the so-far pointless back-and-forth can get between the rival teams, it doesn’t do any harm to keep a possible fight between Smith and Azim in the public consciousness. Eventually, it will happen. It needs to happen. It should happen. I have belief that in this instance, boxing will at some point give us what we crave.

The IBO world title Azim claimed last night is lightly regarded, certainly in comparison to other baubles that carry a similar tagline, but it will help. And it is a sign of progress. Bigger fights and more worthwhile titles are imminent. But they should still come with many degrees of caution. There is no rush. Time favours Adam Azim. The patience Azim is now showing inside the ring should be replicated outside of the ring.

While I understand the desire to make the fight with Dalton Smith, but from an Azim perspective, it has to be when they feel ready. And when it makes business sense. The Smith camp understandably want it sooner rather than later because they will feel their chances of success are greater right now. Azim shouldn’t feel pressured or dictated to when that fight eventually materialises. Both can go separate ways for now. Eventually, their paths will align, preferably when there is a meaningful world title on the line. A big fight deserves the biggest setting.

Photo Credit: Lawrence Lustig/Boxxer