Adam Azim is very aware when he takes on Ohara Davies at the Copper Box Arena on Saturday, live on Sky Sportshe will be facing the “biggest puncher of his career”.
Having won and defended the European title in record time, Azim puts his undefeated record (11-0, 8 KOs) on the line against Davies (25-3, 18 KOs) as he looks to continue his impressive career trajectory and prove he is ready for the biggest names in the division and become world champion in the 140lb division in the coming years.
Davies, a former British and Commonwealth champion, returns to the ring with a point to prove following an unsuccessful attempt at the WBA Interim super-lightweight crown and the chance to get back into world title contention.
But Azim knows Davies’ punch-power is going to be a force he has to reckon with and is something that pundits and commentators believe will be a big test for the 22-year-old.
“I am preparing for the biggest puncher of my career,” Azim told Sky Sports. “He is a big puncher but the aim of the game is not to get hit.
“I want to be going back to my corner, sitting down, and when Shane (McGuigan) asks me the question ‘how is his punch’, I want to say ‘I have not been hit yet.
“That is the game plan in my head right now. So I have just got to sit down, not get hit, and if I do get hit, you can’t really teach anything about that. It is whether you can take it or not.
“I know I have come from the high mountains of Kashmir and I know that I am a warrior in my family.
“I have a lot more to come. I am still young, I am still learning, and I am looking forward to the fight.”
Although Azim and Davies are friends outside of the ring having trained at the same gym for many years, the up-and-coming star knows once the fight starts, friendships go out of the window.
“It’s the boxing world. To get to where you want to be, you’ve got to fight,” Azim said.
“I’ve got to have that mindset to go in, dictate the fight and stay in the middle. We have got so much respect for each other. When we get to fight night, when the bell goes, our friendship goes, because we’re in a fight, we’re in war and we’re there to put on a clinical performance. I’m there to do my duty.
“Outside we’re friends, but in the ring it’s all down to business and I’m going to be so fully focused for this fight… I won’t hesitate. Any opportunity comes, it comes. I’m just looking forward to getting in the ring and fight. It’s going to be a great fight.
“Hopefully I put on a great performance. People want to know if I’m ready for world level or not and I feel like I am ready for the world level. I feel like the time’s coming where I’m maturing as a person, as a human being.
“I don’t want to look past Ohara. He’s a dangerous fight. I’ve got to be switched on.”
Davies: Azim has gone from kid at the gym to opponent
With a 10-year age gap between the pairing, it is fair to say Davies did not envisage himself one day fighting Azim.
But Azim has gone from “kid at the gym” to “dangerous fighter” in Davies’ eyes, and the 32-year-old hopes he is the one that “unlocks the code” to beat him.
“I am not one to say no to fights. I’m always one to say yes to fights. There’s never been a fight in my career that I’ve said no to. Adam’s the same. He’s a fighter, a warrior. Adam didn’t say no, I didn’t say no. So here we are,” said Davies.
“I know Adam… Sometimes in boxing that’s how it goes.
“You never know what can happen. I look at all these up-and-coming fighters and I say I can fight any of you guys. I can fight my friend. I’m fighting Adam Azim. It’s mad.
“I’ve known Adam a bit before I turned pro, at the Peacock gym with Tunde… He wasn’t anyone special. Just a young kid. He wasn’t somebody I looked at and thought one day I can fight this man. Just one of the kids in the gym.
“But he’s worked so hard. He’s a man, he’s got a beard now, a deep voice, he’s tall. He turned into a man and he’s turned into a good boxer and I’m so happy to see what he’s made of himself.
“Because I’ve know him for so long. There’s never going to be any hatred in my heart towards him.
“I know what I’m up against, I’m up against a dangerous fighter and I’m not here to lose in front of thousands.
“I’m going to have to try and unlock the code (to beating him). I do have thoughts (how), the same way everyone he’s fought against before thought that they had the code. That’s what every fighter thinks. We’ve just got to wait and see whether I can do it on October 19.
“I wouldn’t take a fight if I thought I didn’t stand a chance of winning.”
McGuigan: Fight reminds me of Taylor and Catterall
For Azim’s trainer Shane McGuigan, the fight is one that reminds him of the match up between Jack Catterall and Josh Taylor: a calculated puncher vs a kid trying to make his mark.
Davies himself went up against Catterall in 2018, going all the way with him, but losing on points.
“It’s going to be a very lively fight while it lasts and I just think the speed is going to be such a big factor,” said McGuigan.
“Ohara’s skillful enough to go the distance with Jack Catterall, but Catterall is very calculated. He’s a good puncher but he’s very calculated. He doesn’t really go through the gears.
“Adam’s an excitable young kid that wants to make an impression, just like Josh Taylor was when I was training him.
“He wants to make an impression, doesn’t want to go there and win on points, he wants to go there and make a statement and I think if you’ve got high expectations to do massive things in this sport – which he does and I fully expect he’s got the capability to – you’re going to have go out there and put on an explosive performance. I think he can do it.”
Adam Azim will fight Ohara Davies at the Copper Box Arena in London on October 19, live on Sky Sports. Stream boxing and more with NOW
