Adam Azim and Sergey Lipinets express their mutual respect ahead of Saturday’s fight

Respect is usually something two boxers will express in the aftermath of a fight, having won theirs in the ring, yet occasionally it is something expressed prior to the fight, too. 

In the case of Adam Azim and Sergey Lipinets, respect is something they both take into their super lightweight fight on Saturday night at Wembley Arena, rather than something that needs to be won. For Azim, the respect he has for Lipinets, which he declared at this afternoon’s press conference in Wembley, has much to do with Lipinets’ experience and the fact that the Kazakh managed to win an IBF super lightweight title in only his 13th pro fight. Lipinets, on the other hand, has respect for Azim, 12-0 (9), for the simple reason that he appears willing to test himself in ways other prospects are perhaps not.

“I respect Adam Azim,” Lipinets said. “He’s young and he has taken this hard fight with me. It’s good when you don’t stay in the pocket and in the same place and you want to fight the best of the best and the good fighters. It’s a good step. 

“I am ready for the fight. What I expect is a very good fighter and action for 12 rounds. 

“We had a very good training camp. We had good sparring, good training. He is very young, very quick. But I have experience and we will see who will win this fight.”

Though he has only 22 professional bouts to his name, Lipinets boasts an extensive kickboxing background and has been fighting for most of his life. Not only that, within those 22 pro fights are fights against the likes of Mikey Garcia, Jaron “Boots” Ennis, and Lamont Peterson, whom Lipinets, 18-3-1 (13), stopped in 2019. 

“I’ve got so much respect for him,” said Azim of Lipinets. “He’s a former IBF world champion who has fought the likes of ‘Boots’ Ennis, Mikey Garcia, and Lamont Peterson. He’s got the accolades. He has fought at a world-class level and I want to get to that point. I want to fight the world champions and this is my time to shine.

“Sergey is from Kazakhstan, so he’s got that heritage. They’re quite tough and strong. I’ve got to hit him with a lot of punches to get him down, but I’m expecting fireworks on Saturday night. I’m expecting some IQ-level boxing.”

While eager to show his respect for his opponent’s credentials, Azim also reiterated his desire to end Lipinets’ professional career on Saturday night. 

“He’s getting to that age and it would be nice if I could do that,” Azim said. “But I’ve got a lot of respect for him.”