Adam Azim oozing confidence going into super-lightweight fight against Aram Fanyan
- Planet Sport writer
- 9 August 2023
British boxer Adam Azim believes his speed and skill will be too much for Ukraine’s Aram Fanyan when the two go head-to-head next month.
Super-lightweight Adam Azim returns to the ring against Aram Fanyan on the undercard of Liam Smith's rematch against Chris Eubank Jr on September 2, having recovered from a hand injury which forced their planned fight in June to be rescheduled.
The 21-year-old is confident he has what it takes to overpower his experienced opponent and extend his 8-0-0 unbeaten record.
"Fanyan is a good fighter, he's very durable so he's not one to look over," Azim told the PA news agency.
"But this is where I can show what I am about and when I get into that ring everyone will see the class, the skill, my stamina and I feel like this is a great platform for me to boost my exposure.
"He's not a big puncher, but he's a very old-school fighter. He stands up really well and he throws his shots well too, but I think in the early rounds he won't be able to cope with my speed and it will be very difficult for him to land a shot on me as well and I think this is a perfect fight for me to showcase my skills.
"I think I win by knockout between three to five rounds."
Azim's most-recent victory came in February against Santos Reyes by unanimous decision and a win against Fanyan would be his fourth success in the space of a year.
And the Slough fighter has set his sights on entering the European rankings by beating his ranked opponent.
"Fanyan is in the European rankings and that is the reason I took this fight, so I can get into there myself," Azim added.
"I could say that this guy is the hardest fighter in the top 10 of the European rankings and so I need to take fights like these to show who I am and I think I can beat him by stopping him.
"I want to be undisputed champion, that's my dream and my goal is to become champion, but to make it even bigger would be to become undisputed by having all the belts."
Azim also praised his coach Shane McGuigan and his training partners for inspiring him and pushing him in the gym.
He said: "I've got the likes of Chris Billam-Smith, Caroline Dubois, Ellie Scotney in the gym who are world-class fighters and they are world champions as well which is my ambition, so they are my role models in the gym.
"He (McGuigan) is an unbelievable trainer, he makes me train really hard and he's a world class trainer."
