ADAM AZIM could be facing his biggest challenge yet in his upcoming fight against Harlem Eubank, as both parties are in advanced talks.
The two fighters met in the ring at London’s O2 Arena tonight for a face-off, although nothing has been officially confirmed yet.
“I’m ready. This is what I wanted. He may be a Eubank, but I’m an Azim. It’s going to be an Azim takeover,” stated the confident champion during their respectful head to head.
“I don’t believe he wants it. His team clearly wants it, his team is clearly excited, but I know he doesn’t want it,” Eubank remarked.
Azim, with a record of 11-0 (8 KOs), is poised for global success under promoter Ben Shalom and the support of Sky Sports. The 22-year-old fighter trained by Shane McGuigan will aim to make a statement to his domestic rivals when he faces Eubank.
Harlem Eubank (Photo by Alex Davidson/Getty Images)
Eubank, under Wasserman promotion and Adam Booth’s training, has shown improvement with wins over experienced fighters like Viorel Simion and Sean Dodd. In November 2022, he elevated his competition level by defeating Tom Farrell on points at York Hall. In his last fight, the 30-year-old from Brighton secured a minor WBO belt by stopping Timo Schwarzkopf in the 11th round.
Azim has been making headlines due to his rivalry with Dalton Smith. Last November, he claimed the European 140lb title against Franck Petitjean. Additionally, on February 23, he successfully defended his title against Enock Poulsen, who withdrew in the fifth round due to a shoulder injury.
The possibility of Azim’s second title defence against Smith seemed likely, with the European Boxing Union initiating purse bids for the fight and setting a deadline for April 3 at 11am UK time.
However, Eddie Hearn, Smith’s promoter, recently stated that Azim would not defend his title against Smith. Smith himself moved to world level on March 23 by defeating Jose Zepeda in front of his home fans in Sheffield.