Eddie Hearn rejects the notion that Dalton Smith vs. Adam Azim only occurs with help from Saudi

Eddie Hearn has again urged Adam Azim and his management team to accept a British junior welterweight showdown with Matchroom-promoted Dalton Smith. 

The contest has been much discussed in recent months with both fighters calling the other out following recent victories – Smith thrashed the overmatched Walid Ouizza on January 25 before Azim did a number on Sergey Lipinets a week later – but Hearn has long claimed that his efforts to make the contest have not been reciprocated by the McGuigans, who handle Azim’s development.

“It is a PR disaster to use the word ‘marinate’ in relation to a fight,” Hearn said on The Matchroom Boxing Podcast. “Why would we marinate this fight when it is beautifully cooked already?

“Why would we wait a year or two years for Dalton Smith vs. Adam Azim? It is staring us in the face. It’s a dangerous fight for Dalton and it’s a dangerous fight for Adam Azim.”

So dangerous, Hearn infers, that Team Azim is in no rush to match their man with Smith – unless a huge offer from Saudi Arabia is made to stage the bout.

“You might even say it’s a 50/50 fight but isn’t that what you want? It’s not far off a mega fight, it could probably sell out Hillsborough [home of Sheffield Wednesday FC], it could maybe sell out the [London] O2, both guys can make a lot of money. I hate that, ‘If the Saudis come in with big money then we might look at it, but if not, let’s marinate it nicely.’”

Following Azim’s incredibly impressive ninth-round stoppage of veteran Lipinets on Saturday, trainer Shane McGuigan offered his view on what happens should Smith be matched with his charge.

“Shane McGuigan said Azim beats up Smith and stops him,” Hearn scoffed. “Why wouldn’t you take the fight if that’s the case, for massive money, for massive profile – and you’d be stealing Dalton Smith’s mandatory position [he is currently ranked No. 2 with the WBC]?

“And when they say ‘Eddie Hearn is desperate’, well, I am desperate for that fight. I want to make it bad. I am pleading to make Dalton Smith vs. Adam Azim. And not because we’ve got nowhere else to go but because we think it’s one of the best fights in British boxing. Everyone should be desperate for it.”