Saturday’s show at Barnsley’s Oakwell Stadium, headlined by local lad Callum Simpson, has been bolstered this afternoon by the news that Adam Azim, one of the sport’s brightest prospects, will be having his 14th professional fight on the card.
Super-lightweight Azim, 13-0 (10), has taken this opportunity at late notice following the withdrawal of Leeds light-heavyweight Mick Learmonth and plans to use it to stay sharp ahead of what his promoter, Boxxer, are calling a “major fight”.
On Saturday, Azim, 22, will fight Mexico’s Eliot Chavez, who returns to the UK having fought Harlem Eubank there in 2022. That night, against Eubank, Chavez found himself disqualified in round nine and will therefore hope for a cleaner and better fight with Azim on Saturday.
His best win to date is an impressive first-round knockout of former WBA featherweight champion Mauricio Lara, who later went on to beat the likes of Josh Warrington and Leigh Wood in Britain.
“I’m already training hard for a big fight, so when the opportunity came up to get on this card, I jumped at it,” said Azim. “I discussed it with my team and [promoter] Ben Shalom, and we felt it was the right time to get in some solid competitive rounds against a tough opponent.
“I’m also excited to go up there to fight in front of a capacity-crowd stadium in Barnsley. Callum’s [Simpson] told me all about the incredible noise from the stands and I plan to put on a show for them. It’s going to be a huge night in front of a packed crowd at Oakwell and I can’t wait to be part of it.
“There’s a big British Asian community in South Yorkshire too, and I hope they take the chance to grab the remaining tickets and get behind me. Let’s make it a night to remember.”
In the night’s headline fight, Callum Simpson, 17-0 (12), contests the vacant European super-middleweight title against Italy’s undefeated Ivan Zucco, 21-0 (18).