Adam Azim’s trainer Shane McGuigan believes that the in-demand contest between his fighter and Azim’s domestic rival Dalton Smith “isn’t far away”.
Azim on Saturday put on a beatdown on the former IBF junior-welterweight champion Sergey Lipinets until the referee Steve Gray decided that he had seen enough after nine one-sided rounds. Azim was quick to mention the name of Smith after his victory, playing down his recent European title win [a belt that Azim vacated when he was ordered to face Smith].
It has also been reported that Azim’s promoter, Boxxer’s Ben Shalom, had turned down an offer for Azim to face Smith on the undercard of Chris Eubank Jnr-Conor Benn on April 26.
“Dalton Smith is always going to be there,” McGuigan told Sky Sports. “Adam is 22, Dalton is in his prime, he is not going anywhere, but I don’t think it’s far away. Adam wants the fight, he’s wanted it for a long time, it’s me managing his career, mapping it out, making sure when it does happen it’s for the right amount of money and for the right exposure.
“We don’t want it on an undercard, we want it to sell out and be a PPV event. It’s not far away, because our side believes Adam wins and he’ll stop Dalton Smith, I believe he’s got the ability to stop him. Dalton and Eddie [Hearn] probably feel the same way against Adam; this is what makes these fights so appealing to the general public.”
Interest in a fight between Azim and the former undisputed junior-welterweight champion Josh Taylor has also grown. McGuigan, who led Taylor to world-title glory at 140lbs, is open to seeing that fight.
“We’ll have to see where Josh [Taylor] goes with his career,” the trainer said. “He’s been an undisputed world champion, we’re not going to take anything away from that. He was a student of mine; that would be a fantastic fight. Two people who are at very different stages of their career, so whether Josh wants that as an option, we can completely understand if Josh wants to go elsewhere and look for other names.”