Adam Azim vs. Harlem Eubank | Sky Sports - Who wins?

[SeanBrennan]

I think Harlem is a good boxer, just seems to have gone quiet. I think it's a god pick by Azim's team though. Who is Harlem with?

He's in the Adam Booth gym, but Booth isn't in his corner, it's that Charlie fella, dunno the surname.

thanks Don appreciated

[The_Don1]

I think Harlem is a good boxer, just seems to have gone quiet. I think it's a god pick by Azim's team though. Who is Harlem with?

He's in the Adam Booth gym, but Booth isn't in his corner, it's that Charlie fella, dunno the surname.

thanks Don appreciated

appreciate you Sean, always respectful and providing good content to the forum.

[SeanBrennan]

He's in the Adam Booth gym, but Booth isn't in his corner, it's that Charlie fella, dunno the surname.

thanks Don appreciated

appreciate you Sean, always respectful and providing good content to the forum.

thanks a lot Don, really do appreciate that mate. Made me evening that.

[The_Don1]

thanks Don appreciated

appreciate you Sean, always respectful and providing good content to the forum.

thanks a lot Don, really do appreciate that mate. Made me evening that.

no worries pal!

[Manchester Hitman]

Shalom created the Azim-Smith narrative by having Dalton Smith as a pundit on Sky for the Azim-Charlton fight. Azim and Smith spoke together in the post-fight interview.

Boxxer motioned to sign Smith following this, but were not successful.

Fan pressure didn't create this, if anyone, Boxxer created the hype and then the BBBofC and the EBU mandated it.

Dalton Smith fought on a Sky show vs Kaisee Benjamin, on a Boxxer promotion, not all of his fights have been under the Matchroom banner.

Again, amateurish from Boxxer who have done their fighter a disserving.

I’m aware that Boxxer have promoted Smith and wanted to sign him to build towards an AZim fight etc. Whether he took that one fight on Sky or not, the fans/Hearn etc would still be calling for the fight.

I really don’t understand this notion that the fight has to happen now or that somehow Azim is being diserved. Azim v Eubank (because of the storyline) makes perfect sense to move towards the mainstream. I’m pretty certain we will see that it’s far from an amateurish move by Boxxer as it comes together.

Everybody said pulling Clarke from the original bids was a joke, only for it to have been proven last night to have been correct promotional work.

We can come back to this in the future, but the only way Azim v Smith happens, is going to be if Sky/Boxxer put in on.

Fair but I think I successfully dispelled pretty much everything you said in your initial post.

in May 2022 Ben Shalom literally said "'no one really wants to fight Adam Azim" now almost 2 years on, someone wants to fight Adam Azim, but Boxxer/McGugains/Azim don't want it. It smacks of Caroline Dubois being hyped as the next big thing, only to be pulled out by the same team when it came to IBF world title purse bids in a dangerous fight vs Beatriz Ferreira.

In terms of Clarke, as you swerved from the topic, did 10 rounds against 40 odd year Maurisz Wach and 6 rounds vs the boxing comedian really serve him better, than the fight when it was ordered? That is up for debate.

Ultimately, as fans we want to see the best fights happen, none of us are promoters, none of us are managers, we do not take a percentage cut from any of this, so given the Sky and Boxxer hyperbole about Azim, it really is disappointing to see they're pulling out of a massive fight, which the fans could only profit from.

Again there is no fan pressure about Azim-Smith, it was literally ordered by the bbbofc and the EBU.

Also where is the storyline between Azim-Harlem? There isn't one!

At the point of the Clarke bids situation, he didn’t even have a scheduled 10 rounder on on his CV. Wach was 40, yeah fine, but 10 rounds is 10 rounds, plus also the Allen experience. These are all things that give his Trainer etc an opportunity to work on his development and I would be shocked if that didn’t play a part in preparing him for the eventually war against Wardley.

Interms of what Shalom said about nobody wanting Azim etc, that’s just standard Promoter talk and isn’t really anything to hold on to.

Azim v Smith is a big fight for boxing fans, but not the general public which is what one of my original points was. Despite the noise from whoever, both Teams will want a major pay packet and the money is not going to be there yet. The fight and profiles needs building, and Azim getting involved with a Eubank will be a very good intro to the wider market. No there isn’t any particular storyline between the fighters, that’s why I am assuming Sky will be getting Eubank Senior/Mcguigan to push it and doing alot of shoulder programming using their own history.

Personally I can wait for the eventual Smith fight to happen and it should be a big event if everybody keeps winning/growing.

I don’t have any particular interest in the C Dubois stuff, so yeah happy to go along with your comments.

[Spud]

Completely the right fight for Azim
To take.

Excellent matchmaking.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Azim has vacated the EBU belt

[a force]

Good fight but I’d much prefer Azim/Dalton Smith.

I find it really 2 faced of Shalom though. He spent the days before literally saying that Azim was ‘a baby’ and that he’s only 21. Also accused Eddie of bullying by calling for the fight. He’s seemingly now fighting someone older than Smith.

I also find it real strange that they did what they did last night without having the fight signed. What’s to stop Kalle or Matchroom trying to make Eubank against Smith now for the British, European and WBC Silver belts?

Azim’s not had a gut check yet so I’d say it’s a more winnable fight on a much bigger platform.

I think we’d all prefer Azim - Smith but been realistic if the shoe was on the other foot & Hearn promoted Azim & Shalom promoted Smith there’s no way on earth Hearn makes the fight.

Smith’s in an awkward position in that he’s a really good fighter but most of his fights have been pretty dull, barely anyone watches Dazn & he doesn’t really shift tickets. They’re desperate for the Azim fight because it’s a chance to fight on a huge platform & build Smith’s name. It must be costing a fortune to put him on as a headliner in the UK against world ranked opponents.

[Twinkle Toes]

He'll have way too much for a weight drained Eubank - I think some people call that excellent matchmaking.

[maverick23]

Good fight but I’d much prefer Azim/Dalton Smith.

I find it really 2 faced of Shalom though. He spent the days before literally saying that Azim was ‘a baby’ and that he’s only 21. Also accused Eddie of bullying by calling for the fight. He’s seemingly now fighting someone older than Smith.

I also find it real strange that they did what they did last night without having the fight signed. What’s to stop Kalle or Matchroom trying to make Eubank against Smith now for the British, European and WBC Silver belts?

Azim’s not had a gut check yet so I’d say it’s a more winnable fight on a much bigger platform.

I think we’d all prefer Azim - Smith but been realistic if the shoe was on the other foot & Hearn promoted Azim & Shalom promoted Smith there’s no way on earth Hearn makes the fight.

Smith’s in an awkward position in that he’s a really good fighter but most of his fights have been pretty dull, barely anyone watches Dazn & he doesn’t really shift tickets. They’re desperate for the Azim fight because it’s a chance to fight on a huge platform & build Smith’s name. It must be costing a fortune to put him on as a headliner in the UK against world ranked opponents.

I agree it’s a more winnable fight on a bigger platform.

If Hearn was as confident as Shalom is outwardly being then he’d take the fight. They had Ohara Davies fight Josh Taylor on Taylor’s platform. Matchroom don’t often pull fighters out of purse bids, whilst Boxxer have done so 4 times in the last 12 months despite having a small stable of fighters (Frazer Clarke for British, Riakporhe for world title, Caroline Dubois for world title and now Azim).

I just think it’s another case of it being poorly handled. If they weren’t going to take the fight then fine. Just vacate the belt earlier and say they’re going in a different direction.

Instead they’ve made it look like Azim is running from the Smith fight and Azim/Shalom are both getting grief about it.

Making claims of bullying and saying Azim is just a baby (literally his words) and then fighting someone older isn’t a great look.

[The_Don1]

I look forward to the day that paying boxing fans start thinking like fans again, that deserve value for the money they invest in the sport, instead of thinking like promoters that fans don't take a percentage for, and thinking like managers fans don't take a percentage for.

The sport may become a better product as a result.

[KiwiRider]

Eubank's performance and KO over Martin McDonagh, in 2020, was very impressive, I expected big things from him after that. Since then he's fought mid to lower tier opposition with no real tests, no wonder the McGuigans and Boxxer have carefully hand picked him for next.

Thanks
I found the fight and will watch it later

no worries, best performance Harlem has put in, against good opposition, IMO, recall the odds being pick em for the fight

I watched it.
It was a good performance from Harlem, I suspect made better by McDonagh tiring badly in the 7th & 8th rounds with Harlem capitalising on that and doing the business. It was quite close through the first half.
Saw the highlight reel of the Timo Schwartzkopf and he was OK too.
I watched Catterall who won wide, but Harlem stopped him.

[The_Don1]

Thanks
I found the fight and will watch it later

no worries, best performance Harlem has put in, against good opposition, IMO, recall the odds being pick em for the fight

I watched it.
It was a good performance from Harlem, I suspect made better by McDonagh tiring badly in the 7th & 8th rounds with Harlem capitalising on that and doing the business. It was quite close through the first half.
Saw the highlight reel of the Timo Schwartzkopf and he was OK too.
I watched Catterall who won wide, but Harlem stopped him.

Good man, haven't re-watched since I saw it live, just recall that fight turned me on to Harlem being a prospect, he did well to stop Timo, wasn't all one way traffic until that point. Catterall was pretty much going through the motions as he's prone to do when he fought him.

[a force]

Good fight but I’d much prefer Azim/Dalton Smith.

I find it really 2 faced of Shalom though. He spent the days before literally saying that Azim was ‘a baby’ and that he’s only 21. Also accused Eddie of bullying by calling for the fight. He’s seemingly now fighting someone older than Smith.

I also find it real strange that they did what they did last night without having the fight signed. What’s to stop Kalle or Matchroom trying to make Eubank against Smith now for the British, European and WBC Silver belts?

Azim’s not had a gut check yet so I’d say it’s a more winnable fight on a much bigger platform.

I think we’d all prefer Azim - Smith but been realistic if the shoe was on the other foot & Hearn promoted Azim & Shalom promoted Smith there’s no way on earth Hearn makes the fight.

Smith’s in an awkward position in that he’s a really good fighter but most of his fights have been pretty dull, barely anyone watches Dazn & he doesn’t really shift tickets. They’re desperate for the Azim fight because it’s a chance to fight on a huge platform & build Smith’s name. It must be costing a fortune to put him on as a headliner in the UK against world ranked opponents.

I agree it’s a more winnable fight on a bigger platform.

If Hearn was as confident as Shalom is outwardly being then he’d take the fight. They had Ohara Davies fight Josh Taylor on Taylor’s platform. Matchroom don’t often pull fighters out of purse bids, whilst Boxxer have done so 4 times in the last 12 months despite having a small stable of fighters (Frazer Clarke for British, Riakporhe for world title, Caroline Dubois for world title and now Azim).

I just think it’s another case of it being poorly handled. If they weren’t going to take the fight then fine. Just vacate the belt earlier and say they’re going in a different direction.

Instead they’ve made it look like Azim is running from the Smith fight and Azim/Shalom are both getting grief about it.

Making claims of bullying and saying Azim is just a baby (literally his words) and then fighting someone older isn’t a great look.

The small stable of fighters is why they are pulling out of purse bids. They barely have enough fighters to headline Sky shows so they’re not going to let their headliners be away fighters on other TV channels.

I just think they’re basically playing games. Hearn knows how the Sky contracts work & there’s probably no way a guy earmarked as a future star by Sky is fighting on Dazn as an underdog on a matchroom show.

I get your point about O’Hara Davies but he was very unpopular, was never earmarked as a future star & didn’t sell tickets. And more importantly Hearn had a huge stable so Davies fighting in Scotland didn’t matter to him when he still had headliners in London, Manchester, Leeds, Glasgow, Hull etc at the time.

Shalom was probably waiting & seeing whether Smith came through the Zepeda fight or not. If Smith lost that they would’ve got a much easier opponent for Azim & wouldn’t have vacated the belt.

[maverick23]

Azim’s not had a gut check yet so I’d say it’s a more winnable fight on a much bigger platform.

I think we’d all prefer Azim - Smith but been realistic if the shoe was on the other foot & Hearn promoted Azim & Shalom promoted Smith there’s no way on earth Hearn makes the fight.

Smith’s in an awkward position in that he’s a really good fighter but most of his fights have been pretty dull, barely anyone watches Dazn & he doesn’t really shift tickets. They’re desperate for the Azim fight because it’s a chance to fight on a huge platform & build Smith’s name. It must be costing a fortune to put him on as a headliner in the UK against world ranked opponents.

I agree it’s a more winnable fight on a bigger platform.

If Hearn was as confident as Shalom is outwardly being then he’d take the fight. They had Ohara Davies fight Josh Taylor on Taylor’s platform. Matchroom don’t often pull fighters out of purse bids, whilst Boxxer have done so 4 times in the last 12 months despite having a small stable of fighters (Frazer Clarke for British, Riakporhe for world title, Caroline Dubois for world title and now Azim).

I just think it’s another case of it being poorly handled. If they weren’t going to take the fight then fine. Just vacate the belt earlier and say they’re going in a different direction.

Instead they’ve made it look like Azim is running from the Smith fight and Azim/Shalom are both getting grief about it.

Making claims of bullying and saying Azim is just a baby (literally his words) and then fighting someone older isn’t a great look.

The small stable of fighters is why they are pulling out of purse bids. They barely have enough fighters to headline Sky shows so they’re not going to let their headliners be away fighters on other TV channels.

I just think they’re basically playing games. Hearn knows how the Sky contracts work & there’s probably no way a guy earmarked as a future star by Sky is fighting on Dazn as an underdog on a matchroom show.

I get your point about O’Hara Davies but he was very unpopular, was never earmarked as a future star & didn’t sell tickets. And more importantly Hearn had a huge stable so Davies fighting in Scotland didn’t matter to him when he still had headliners in London, Manchester, Leeds, Glasgow, Hull etc at the time.

Shalom was probably waiting & seeing whether Smith came through the Zepeda fight or not. If Smith lost that they would’ve got a much easier opponent for Azim & wouldn’t have vacated the belt.

Whilst I’m sure Eddie is playing games, they’re fights that have been ordered and in Azim’s case it’s for his belt as well as Smith’s.

If you look at the comments that Shalom/Azim are getting on social it’s pretty much one way traffic of jokes at their expense. You’re right in that they waited to see Smith’s result against Zepeda but Smith’s performance has made it look like a bigger duck than it would have if they’d just vacated it he belt as soon as or before purse bids were called.

They pulled Riakporhe out of purse bids last August against Opetaia and all he’s had since then is a keep busy as we wait for a CBS fight to be sorted. Why not try and win the purse bid? Then if you lose and are adamant you don’t want on a rival network then withdraw?

Caroline Dubois was calling out Katie Taylor 6 months ago. Now she gets mandated to fight Ferreira for the IBF title and withdraws. Seemingly because it’s a competitive fight and may land on a different network.

Also their fighters don’t have to fight on different networks. They just need to win the bid like they did to bring Dalton Smith over to Sky to fight Kaisee Benjamin.

I just think it’s been poorly handled by Shalom who is fairly often showing his inexperience and ultimately us aren’t seeing some really good mandated fights because the promoter who said they want to work with everyone will only seemingly do so if it’s on his affiliated tv network.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Azim has injury so this will be postponed

[maverick23]

Azim has injury so this will be postponed

Where did you see that bud? I suppose they hadn’t even announced a date yet.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Azim has injury so this will be postponed

Where did you see that bud? I suppose they hadn’t even announced a date yet.

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