Adam Azim on Going Up Against Dalton Smith: I Don’t Mind Taking That Fight, I Don’t Fear Nobody
The announcement last week that Adam Azim (11-0, 8 KOs) would be defending his EBU super lightweight championship against British and Commonwealth champion Dalton Smith (15-0, 11 KOs) would have been a big, thrilling one. The European Boxing Union had authorized a purse bid for Azim.
Instead, most people just shrugged it off, accepting that boxing politics will keep Smith, who competes on DAZN for Matchroom, and Azim, who fights on Sky Sports under the Boxer’s banner, from facing each other in the near future.
In order to give Azim time to observe Ramadan, the purse bid has been rescheduled for April 1st. Smith has declared that he would not withdraw from the bid when it occurs, although he does have urgent matters to take care of in the interim. On March 23, he squares off against the formidable Jose Zepeda in Sheffield. On February 5, Azim successfully defended his title for the first time when Enoch Poulsen was declared out in the fifth round of their bout due to a dislocated shoulder.
During his Tuesday appearance on Sky Sports’ Toe2Toe podcast, Azim, a 21-year-old who is still undefeated, didn’t exactly challenge his Sheffield opponent.
He remarked, “He’s fighting somebody else, so he can’t fight me.”
“I give my team room to operate. It’s me that enters the ring to fight. I’ll take on whatever opponent they throw at me. This battle may intensify nicely in the future or even right now. This war is going to happen, no matter how long it takes—it may be twenty years or more. It is certain to occur.
The boxing mystics who concur that the battle needs more time to develop have already started staring intently into their crystal balls. They envision the two facing off in a stadium as the main attraction of a significant pay-per-view event, possibly leading to a world title unification match.
That is a scenario that is full of speculation, but it might very well happen. The 140-pound class is quite competitive, thus neither boxer is guaranteed to make it to the top without losing.
Of course, letting the fight marinate pays off financially, but if you tinker with your cuisine too much, it will become chilly.
Smith and Azim are dependent on one another, according to the counterargument. Both competitors would gain and advance both technically and commercially from the battle, which would be a significant event. A defeat would not mean the end of either fighter’s hopes to win a world title, and the bout might—and probably would—start a long-lasting rivalry between the two.
Azim seemed to agree that there will be a larger fight in the future, even though he didn’t completely rule out battling Smith again.
“A hundred percent. It would be fantastic if we each took home a global championship. It’d be a battle in a stadium, he declared. Additionally, it may also be a world title eliminator. He is 27 years old, and I am 21. Both he and I are still learning. Both of us are headed towards becoming world champions. Right now, it’s purse bids, and because I have no fear of anyone, I don’t mind fighting.”
