BOXXER promoter Ben Shalom has added some clarity on why Adam Azim’s appearance on the undercard of Chris Eubank Jr vs Conor Benn has now been scuppered.
Azim, 12-0 (9 KOs), is gearing up to face former world champion Sergey Lipinets in what promises to be the toughest test of his professional career this evening.
The pair will square off for the vacant IBO super lightweight title, headlining a Boxxer-promoted Sky Sports show at the Wembley Arena, London.
But while Azim must first take care of business against Lipinets, his promoter, Shalom, has already begun to plot his following assignment.
Initially, the plan was for the Brit to feature on the undercard of Eubank vs Benn, with American contender Montana Love, 18-2-1 (9 KOs), being targeted as a potential opponent.
But now, after Matchroom and Boxxer failed to reach an agreement, it would appear that Azim’s opportunity to shine on April 26 has been abandoned.
Shalom, though, insists that the matchup was always his preferred option, while Love – who is promoted by Matchroom – displayed little interest in taking on ‘The Assassin.’
“That was a fight we agreed to,” Shalom told Boxing News. “For some reason, Matchroom couldn’t get Montana Love over the line.
“It happens a lot – a lot of fighters know that, if they’re going up against a 22-year-old, they’re probably going in to get beaten up.
“I feel like that’s what Montana Love – or Matchroom – probably thought about the [Azim fight], so unfortunately it doesn’t look like that will be happening.”
In any case, Azim’s preparation for the fight would have been significantly hampered, given that Ramadan – lasting around 30 days – takes place during the month of March.
Not only that, but the talented prospect’s head coach, Shane McGuigan, firmly believes that conversations surrounding Azim’s future should wait until after his next outing.
“For us, this is a fight [against Lipinets] where you cannot take your eye off the ball,” said McGuigan.
“We looked at potentially getting the Montana Love fight [agreed], but all the talks were taking too much energy away from [the Lipinets fight].”
