Adam Azim on McGuigan momentum, blistering hands, and stadium dreams

The lightning-quick fists of Adam Azim have whisked him to nine stoppage wins in his first 12 fights, and they might be faster than anything Sergey Lipinets has seen.

They fight on Saturday (February 1) in Wembley Arena and while the 18-3-1 (13 KOs) US-based Kazakh has come under the rapid-fire of Jaron “Boots” Ennis and Mikey Garcia, the blurring speed of Slough’s Azim is something he is yet to experience.

Speed is an attribute that the 22-year-old, trained by Shane McGuigan, has always had, but it is also something he has developed from a young age.

“You do have to have talent,” said Azim, talking about where it came from. “Like [Oleksandr] Usyk said, one per cent of that talent, you can have one per cent of that talent but the 99 per cent of others is dedication and hard work. For myself, when I was a young kid, I did have blistering handspeed but I also worked on my craft. So, with that blistering handspeed, I got it because my dad put some weighted hand gloves on me when I was young. I used to do the speedball all the time. I used to punch with weights on my hands all the time when I was a little kid. I was blessed with this speed but also I improved my speed a lot.”

While Lipinets will see a win over the undefeated Azim as a ticket back to the big time, Azim knows that victory over the veteran will unlock big fights of his own.

“He’s a very, very good opponent, a very, very strong opponent. He’s an international fighter,” said Azim. “He’s fought the likes of Boots Ennis, Mikey Garcia, Lamont Peterson. But it seems like when he does get into that elite level and the top level, he seems to struggle up there. I think I’m going to prove myself that I am an elite fighter when I do beat him.”

Last week, from the same gym as Azim, Ellie Scotney defended her unified world titles. Caroline Dubois holds a lightweight title, and Chris Billam-Smith is a former world champion at cruiserweight. Both Billam-Smith and light heavyweight contender Craig Richards have big fights coming up, and there has been a buzz in the gym for some time. 

That was felt in December when Azim’s friend and oftentimes sparring partner Lee Cutler scored a fabulous win over Stephen McKenna. 

“The gym’s thriving at the moment,” said Azim. “Lee Cutler has really absolutely smashed Stephen McKenna. That was a good fight. Lee actually proved a lot of stuff in that fight. You know, you can fight inside, you can fight long range, and he beat a really good opponent.”

Azim – who stopped Ohara Davies in his last fight – knows that Lipinets is being brought in as a gauge and as a gatekeeper. If the Slough speedster impresses, he is ready for the next level. If he is given hard work, immediate plans might have to be revisited. But there is no disguising Azim’s enthusiasm for the task.

“It’s for the IBO world title. I want to grab the belt with both hands,” he said. “You know, it puts me up into the world stage, the world ranking. And there’s other belts out there. One thing about the IBO world title is that it’s one of the five undisputed belts as well. So it would be good to know that everyone knows that I have that belt.”

The IBO, of course, is not looked at through the same romantic lens as the other straps and its heritage is not on a par with them either; good, bad or indifferent. But the 22-year-old is in no rush to accumulate the other titles. He knows UK fans are desperate to see him matched with Dalton Smith in a fight that has been discussed for 24 months or so, but he is content to follow the instructions of those around him.

“I’m patient. In boxing, it’s all down to business,” he said. “I have to listen to the right trainer, the right people. And obviously, I’m an elite fighter myself. I’ve got to have an elite team around me as well.”

It is those around him he entrusts with his future, to take him to the top. His lightning fists can do the graft in the ring and in training, but outside the ring is where the opportunities will be created. With that in mind, and apparently on a shortlist of fighters likely to be given big opportunities in line with those on offer with such substantial investment from Saudi Arabia, Azim has goals in mind. And while on Saturday night he will top the bill at Wembley Arena, it is the vast national stadium across the road where he wants to ply his craft, following in the footsteps of Carl Froch, George Groves, and Anthony Joshua. And, as a Liverpool fan, Azim is equally keen to top a bill at Anfield, home to his football team.

“I do want to have a massive, massive fight at Wembley Stadium and one of my other dreams is to fight at Anfield. I’m a Liverpool supporter,” he explained. “2025 is going to be a big year for the Reds and hopefully we do what we have to do to stay on top of the league [they currently lead the Premier League]. But that’s one of my two dreams, to fight at the Wembley Stadium and the other one would be Anfield.”