BoxRec

Adam Azim and Harlem Eubank Near European Title Fight

Adam Azim and Harlem Eubank are negotiating a potential fight for Azim’s European super lightweight title.

Azim, one of British boxing’s most exciting prospects, and the 30-year-old Eubank were joined in the ring at The O2 Arena by Barry McGuigan, who guides Azim’s career, and Chris Eubank Sr, Harlem Eubank’s uncle.

They spoke shortly before the entertaining British and Commonwealth heavyweight title fight between Fabio Wardley and Frazer Clarke, a draw that meant Wardley retains his titles. They also spoke while aware that Dalton Smith, Azim’s leading domestic rival, was present with Florian Marku, who had lost on the undercard to Chris Kongo.

“I’m ready,” said Azim. “This is what I wanted. He may be a Eubank, but I’m an Azim. It’s going to be an Azim takeover.”

“I don’t believe he wants it,” said Eubank. “His team clearly want it; his team are clearly excited but I know he doesn’t want it.”

“It’s the next fight,” said Azim’s promoter, Boxxer’s Ben Shalom. “It’s too big an opportunity to turn down for Adam, but also too good an opportunity for Harlem.

“I think it’ll be in London in June.”

Asked if that meant the same card he expected Anthony Yarde and Joshua Buatsi to fight on, which could also include Chris Billam-Smith-Richard Riakporhe II, Shalom responded: “We’ll see.”

Wouldn’t Azim get stripped if he took this ?

Ruthless-RKO wrote: ↑31 Mar 2024, 23:34 Wouldn’t Azim get stripped if he took this ?

Yes, once they withdraw from the Smith purse bid, he'll lose the title. Azim probably wins this if the McGuigans and Boxxer are in the business of picking carefully hand picked opponents, it's a good fight to make up for the Smith fight not happening, just not as good of a fight.

Fantasy boxing managers will tell me it's the best route for him, and I'm fine with that.

Azim, Eubank can’t hold a shot.

Good fight.

Lightsoot wrote: ↑01 Apr 2024, 03:28 Azim, Eubank can’t hold a shot.

How do you know Azim can ?

He's not been in with anyone to hit him yet .

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?

maverick23 wrote: ↑01 Apr 2024, 05:14 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?

Fully agree with this, 2 years ago Shalom was telling us no-one wanted to fight him and he's the next PPV star, 2 years on he's just a baby, it doesn't add up. Agree, very disingenuous of Shalom to string everyone along when it's clear they had no intention of making the Smith fight from the day it was ordered.

Another terrible, amateur PR job from Boxxer all round. Can't say I'm a fan of Hearn but it would be funny if he swooped in with a better offer for Harlem.

Going against the consensus here, but Boxxer have made a clever business & PR decision.

Shalom had no choice but to discuss the Smith fight, due to fan pressure, but he also said repeatedly that there were other options and maybe it was better to do the fight later.

As Boxing fans, we need to remember that only hardcores have any clue about Dalton Smith.

Yesterday, when casuals tuned in after the football etc, they would have said “there’s Barry Mcguigan & Eubank Snr, what’s happening here..oh there’s another Eubank, he’s lost his father and his uncle has stepped in, and he’s fighting this Azim kid…

I think it’s a guarantee that Sky will get behind the fight and it will be a commercial success.

Manchester Hitman wrote: ↑01 Apr 2024, 09:47 Going against the consensus here, but Boxxer have made a clever business & PR decision.

Shalom had no choice but to discuss the Smith fight, due to fan pressure, but he also said repeatedly that there were other options and maybe it was better to do the fight later.

As Boxing fans, we need to remember that only hardcores have any clue about Dalton Smith.

Yesterday, when casuals tuned in after the football etc, they would have said “there’s Barry Mcguigan & Eubank Snr, what’s happening here..oh there’s another Eubank, he’s lost his father and his uncle has stepped in, and he’s fighting this Azim kid.

I can almost guarantee that Sky will get behind the fight and it will be a commercial success.

The other thing we need to get is the fact that if Azim ends up fighting Smith it will have to happen on Sky. DAZN won’t be able to generate the interest/money that both Teams would demand, as relatively nobody had DAZN.

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.

This is a crazy fight for Harlem.

He will get destroyed. It’s way too early for a cash out fight. He could have built steadily to something decent.

Azim by stoppage mid to late for me .

or am i biased cos all eubanks are really effin irritating

Frostieballs wrote: ↑01 Apr 2024, 10:28 This is a crazy fight for Harlem.

He will get destroyed. It’s way too early for a cash out fight. He could have built steadily to something decent.

English was saying after Harlem's last fight that he can't make 140 again and he's moving up to 147, calling out Conor Benn. Money talks I guess, didn't think they'd cash Harlem out this way, but this is boxing.

The_Don1 wrote: ↑01 Apr 2024, 11:13

Frostieballs wrote: ↑01 Apr 2024, 10:28 This is a crazy fight for Harlem.

He will get destroyed. It’s way too early for a cash out fight. He could have built steadily to something decent.

English was saying after Harlem's last fight that he can't make 140 again and he's moving up to 147, calling out Conor Benn. Money talks I guess, didn't think they'd cash Harlem out this way, but this is boxing.

Think I’m mostly annoyed as I’m a Brighton boy and was hoping for a few more nights down here with him topping the bill in 80/20 fights.

Frostieballs wrote: ↑01 Apr 2024, 11:52

The_Don1 wrote: ↑01 Apr 2024, 11:13

Frostieballs wrote: ↑01 Apr 2024, 10:28 This is a crazy fight for Harlem.

He will get destroyed. It’s way too early for a cash out fight. He could have built steadily to something decent.

English was saying after Harlem's last fight that he can't make 140 again and he's moving up to 147, calling out Conor Benn. Money talks I guess, didn't think they'd cash Harlem out this way, but this is boxing.

Think I’m mostly annoyed as I’m a Brighton boy and was hoping for a few more nights down here with him topping the bill in 80/20 fights.

I guess at the age of 30, he needs to be in a real fight. He can always use the 'drained at the weight' excuse should he lose, and move up.

The_Don1 wrote: ↑01 Apr 2024, 09:54

Manchester Hitman wrote: ↑01 Apr 2024, 09:47 Going against the consensus here, but Boxxer have made a clever business & PR decision.

Shalom had no choice but to discuss the Smith fight, due to fan pressure, but he also said repeatedly that there were other options and maybe it was better to do the fight later.

As Boxing fans, we need to remember that only hardcores have any clue about Dalton Smith.

Yesterday, when casuals tuned in after the football etc, they would have said “there’s Barry Mcguigan & Eubank Snr, what’s happening here..oh there’s another Eubank, he’s lost his father and his uncle has stepped in, and he’s fighting this Azim kid.

I can almost guarantee that Sky will get behind the fight and it will be a commercial success.

The other thing we need to get is the fact that if Azim ends up fighting Smith it will have to happen on Sky. DAZN won’t be able to generate the interest/money that both Teams would demand, as relatively nobody had DAZN.

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.

Pretty dominate win for Azim i cant see Eubank winning a round.

Manchester Hitman wrote: ↑01 Apr 2024, 12:39

The_Don1 wrote: ↑01 Apr 2024, 09:54

Manchester Hitman wrote: ↑01 Apr 2024, 09:47 Going against the consensus here, but Boxxer have made a clever business & PR decision.

Shalom had no choice but to discuss the Smith fight, due to fan pressure, but he also said repeatedly that there were other options and maybe it was better to do the fight later.

As Boxing fans, we need to remember that only hardcores have any clue about Dalton Smith.

Yesterday, when casuals tuned in after the football etc, they would have said “there’s Barry Mcguigan & Eubank Snr, what’s happening here..oh there’s another Eubank, he’s lost his father and his uncle has stepped in, and he’s fighting this Azim kid.

I can almost guarantee that Sky will get behind the fight and it will be a commercial success.

The other thing we need to get is the fact that if Azim ends up fighting Smith it will have to happen on Sky. DAZN won’t be able to generate the interest/money that both Teams would demand, as relatively nobody had DAZN.

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.

It’s a good fight for Boxxer. But a terrible fight for Eubank.

Manchester Hitman wrote: ↑01 Apr 2024, 12:39

The_Don1 wrote: ↑01 Apr 2024, 09:54

Manchester Hitman wrote: ↑01 Apr 2024, 09:47 Going against the consensus here, but Boxxer have made a clever business & PR decision.

Shalom had no choice but to discuss the Smith fight, due to fan pressure, but he also said repeatedly that there were other options and maybe it was better to do the fight later.

As Boxing fans, we need to remember that only hardcores have any clue about Dalton Smith.

Yesterday, when casuals tuned in after the football etc, they would have said “there’s Barry Mcguigan & Eubank Snr, what’s happening here..oh there’s another Eubank, he’s lost his father and his uncle has stepped in, and he’s fighting this Azim kid.

I can almost guarantee that Sky will get behind the fight and it will be a commercial success.

The other thing we need to get is the fact that if Azim ends up fighting Smith it will have to happen on Sky. DAZN won’t be able to generate the interest/money that both Teams would demand, as relatively nobody had DAZN.

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!

Gosh I didn't realise Harlem was 30!
I haven't bothered to watch him for years, thinking I'll wait until he has a live opponent because he wasn't even TV ready.
I might watch if its free.

Azim - Smith is the fight, not this.

KiwiRider wrote: ↑01 Apr 2024, 14:50 Gosh I didn't realise Harlem was 30!
I haven't bothered to watch him for years, thinking I'll wait until he has a live opponent because he wasn't even TV ready.
I might watch if its free.

Azim - Smith is the fight, not this.

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.

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?

The_Don1 wrote: ↑01 Apr 2024, 15:02

KiwiRider wrote: ↑01 Apr 2024, 14:50 Gosh I didn't realise Harlem was 30!
I haven't bothered to watch him for years, thinking I'll wait until he has a live opponent because he wasn't even TV ready.
I might watch if its free.

Azim - Smith is the fight, not this.

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

KiwiRider wrote: ↑01 Apr 2024, 15:34

The_Don1 wrote: ↑01 Apr 2024, 15:02

KiwiRider wrote: ↑01 Apr 2024, 14:50 Gosh I didn't realise Harlem was 30!
I haven't bothered to watch him for years, thinking I'll wait until he has a live opponent because he wasn't even TV ready.
I might watch if its free.

Azim - Smith is the fight, not this.

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

SeanBrennan wrote: ↑01 Apr 2024, 15:10 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.