Amir Khan is gone, if not officially. Here comes Adam Azim, the next big star from the British Pakistani community.
Azim returned to the gym this week with his talented brother Hassan after their wins on the Khan/Brook undercard.
It is a pleasure to work with both. Hassan has the big punch. Adam can hit hard too, plus he has that indefinable quality, the X-factor, the potential to be really special.
He is a super-lightweight with the speed of a bantamweight and the power of a middleweight.
I had him on the pads for a couple of weeks in January while Shane (trainer) was away. His left hook would take a mule down.
It was the shot that did for Jordan Ellison. It has such a destructive whip on it. He actually hit Ellison’s glove first and still switched the light off.
Azim is only 19. He was a stellar amateur and would have been a star of the senior GB squad had Covid not hit.
He wants to move on fast but we have to be careful with him. He wants everything to be spectacular to catch opponents with the perfect shot and look great.
That is not how it works. Despite his talent there is stuff he has to learn to prosper in the professional ranks.
Importantly he has to track his opponents better, to close them down. He loves to come into your space, hit you with a jab then wait for the opponent to throw so he can counter quickly.
That’s fine if the opponent is happy to play your game, but at this stage he is fighting savvy journeymen who are not interested in exchanging.
They know how to survive so they can get another gig a couple of weeks down the line.
Ellison kept his hands up high, waited for Azim to punch, then stepped back and off to the side.
Azim needed to back him up and let his punches go. If you are just going to track an opponent waiting for him to throw, you are going to wait all night.
Azim’s work ethic and commitment are first class. He is a boxing obsessive, as is his Hassan. It’s all they think about.
He has had only three pro fights. Ellison was chalking up his 50 th . The plan is to get Azim out at least five times this year.
Next up is Wembley Arena at the end of the month. Such is the size of his west London fan base his will be the loudest cheers of the night.
- Follow Barry on Twitter at @ClonesCyclone @McGuigans_Gym
