RISING star Adam Azim harbours little doubt that, should he ever get his hands on Devin Haney, a vastly one-sided spectacle is likely to unfold.
The 23-year-old was supposed to return to action earlier this month, only for the British Boxing Board of Control to withdraw his opponent from their late-notice encounter.
It was, of course, little more than a tune-up fight for Azim, 13-0 (10 KOs), a chance for him to dust off any cobwebs ahead of a far more meaningful assignment later this year.
At the same time, though, ‘The Assassin’ insists that, given the same window to prepare for Haney, 32-0 (15 KOs), he would nonetheless dispatch the former two-division world champion in typically explosive fashion.
For Azim’s money, the decline of Haney ignited soon after his controversial showdown with Ryan Garcia, who later received a year-long ban for his positive drug test.
But before Garcia’s majority decision victory of last year was overturned to a no-contest, it is fair to say that Haney, who was floored three times, had encountered several punishing spells during their clash.
As a result, Azim believes that the 26-year-old’s last victory, which saw an uninspiring performance against Jose Ramirez, could be explained by the psychological scars he sustained against Garcia.
Either way, the American remains at the top of Azim’s hit list, while the Brit’s attempt to call out George Kambosos Jr, on the other hand, was only met with an uninterested response earlier this week.
Still, having returned to the gym since his last fight fell through, the talented super-lightweight contender now expects to step through the ropes in September or October.
In an ideal world, that fight would be against Haney, with Azim wishing to jump into the deep end following his victory over Sergey Lipinets in February.
“Haney’s not the same fighter he was before [the Garcia fight],” he told Boxing News. “You give me two weeks’ notice and I’ll beat Haney, 100 per cent.
“If they’d asked me if I wanted to fight Haney for that Barnsley show [on June 7], then I’d have taken the fight, because I know that I’d beat him.
“He used to be good, but I don’t think he’s that good now. He’d be running half of the time, and if I ever fight him, I’d smash him. I’ve got the speed and power to beat him.”
