Sergey Lipinets has warned Adam Azim that he has made that same mistake Lipinets made against Mikey Garcia in 2018 – stepping up to world level too soon.
The Kazakh has been matched with Azim, 22 years old and widely regarded as one of the most talented young fighters in Britain, at junior welterweight on Saturday at London’s Wembley Arena.
If Lipinets, 35, represents Azim’s toughest test by a considerable distance, Azim, regardless of the expectation that he will mature into a convincing welterweight, is yet to prove he is anywhere near the level of Garcia and Jaron “Boots” Ennis, Lipinets’ strongest opponents.
Lipinets, unlike Azim, has also reigned as the IBF junior-welterweight champion, and in addition to sharing the ring with two of the finest fighters of the present and previous eras, has recorded victories over opponents of the calibre of Omar Figueroa Jnr.
The 12-fight Azim defeated the declining Ohara Davies in his past fight in October, but he has been identified by his trainer Shane McGuigan as ready for a considerable step up – and regardless of his status as a former European champion, Lipinets believes that Azim’s youth and inexperience means that a mistake has been made.
McGuigan and his father Barry have proven astute at guiding the careers of promising young fighters, but Lipinets is trained by Jonathan Walley out of the Ten Goose boxing gym in Los Angeles and similarly therefore can lean on the experience of the respected Joe Goossen, and he told BoxingScene: “After my 13th fight, I took a fight with Mikey Garcia. He was after his 37th fight; I’d had only 13. He won, but a decision. It was my mistake to take on, too fast, a good fighter.
“They took, too fast, my fight too. They’ve fought only here, and never with anyone in the US – other styles. We will see what happens on Saturday.
“He’s very young and very talented. That’s why he believes he’ll win. But I have experience. I was world champion. I fought with Mikey Garcia; with Ennis [in 2021]. With bigger guys than him, who are quicker; who are stronger. I believe I can use all of my experience for the win.
“He’s very quick. He’s got longer arms than mine. He’s smart, and he has a good shot [power] – he’s young. He has energy.
“But he’s only 22. After 25, you get [physically] stronger; your muscle gets stronger. This is a plus for me, because right now I’m a man. He’s too young – 22. We need to see him in the ring [on Saturday].”
Lipinets arrived in London on Wednesday afternoon, a week later than anticipated, as a consequence of his struggles to secure a visa to travel.
He regardless insists that his preparations have been unaffected, and that he is on course to convincingly make weight.
“I don’t feel different,” he said. “I don’t think it’s a problem for me. I’m just coming here to win – that’s the whole plan. It was my plan before, and it’s still my plan now. We had a good training camp, and I had good sparring partners and good training, and I’m in very good shape.
“My visa took too long a time. I had it only a few days ago. I was coming for 10 days, before.”
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