Ohara Davies was uncharacteristically respectful when it came to speaking about his opponent, Adam Azim, at today’s press conference for their Oct. 19 fight at London’s Copper Box Arena.
However, the same couldn’t be said of Davies speaking about Azim promoter Ben Shalom and trainer Shane McGuigan.
Azim and Davies may be facing each other in a huge junior welterweight matchup next month, but they chose to keep it respectful after sharing a gym together many years ago. The pair returned to the famous Peacock Gym where they first met to announce their fight, and the young Azim seemed excited about the big step up in class.
“This is a big, massive fight, and I’m looking forward to it,” said the 22-year-old Azim. “This is initially where I met Ohara Davies, here at Peacock Gym. It’s a cracking fight for the British public. I’m only 22 years old and, obviously, he’s older than me and got experience. It’s going to be an amazing fight, and I’m looking forward to it.”
The mood in the room quickly turned sour when the 32-year-old Davies was asked his thoughts on the big domestic clash and took aim at Azim’s promoter Shalom for making the fight.
“When you guys get me on these shows, you guys know what I’m about,” said Davies. “I feel like you guys have been phoning me and phoning my manager saying there’s things I can and I can’t say – you’re trying to put me in a box. I say what the hell I want to say at these press conferences. If you don’t want me to say what I want to say, you go and get another fighter.
“When you say you want Ohara Davies on [your] show, Ben [Shalom], you know what I’m about. You know I talk shit, you know I’m disrespectful. When I come here, everyone leaves with a bad taste in their mouth about me. So don’t try to get me in a box. Don’t call Lee and say, ‘Ohara can’t say this.’ I say what the fuck I want to say.
“You guys wanted me to cause some hype and put it on Adam Azim and to spice up the fight,” Davies continued. “I can’t do that; I’ve known Adam for many years. But you think Adam is new to the game, so he needs someone to give him a little push. But you’re new to the game, too, Ben.
“Ben has only been around a couple of years, and you’ve got a lot to learn because you making this fight was the stupidest move you could have made. I don’t know who the fuck convinced you to make this fight happen.
“After what happened to me in my last fight, if Adam wins this fight, it’s a fight that he was meant to win. If he loses this fight, it’s a very bad loss. It’s a lose-lose situation for you guys. I’m not done – I’m only 32 years old. It’s a very hard fight, it’s a 50/50 fight and it’s a very dumb fight to make.”
Davies then turned his attention to Azim’s trainer, McGuigan, and decided to taunt him by presenting him a signed copy of Carl Frampton’s autobiography – a fighter he and his father Barry had a well-documented legal dispute with.
“Where is Shane [McGuigan]? I’ve got a present for you guys,” Davies joked. “I’ve got a book from Carl Frampton, hand-signed by Mr. Carl Frampton himself.”
Azim then came to the defense of his trainer and pointed out that the fight was big enough to sell with the pairs’ names alone and didn’t need the bravado that the book would cause.
“I just want to say, obviously I’ve got respect for you and you respect me,” Azim said. “But please respect my team, because last week you respected Shane, and that’s all I’m asking for – respect. We’re selling the fight because we’re big names; we don’t need no book. We are down to business; there’s no need to bring Shane up. We don’t need Shane, we don’t need this book.”
Davies then taunted McGuigan further moments before squaring off with Azim: He removed his jacket and revealed a large t-shirt with the face of Frampton. Azim again kept his cool and laughed Davies’ antics off.
Read the full article here
