Azim will always be known as a coward and Dalton Smith ducker. Nobody made him and his team fight for the European title. And so the moment he did he put a target on his own back. If the guy is not ready to fight all contenders and "still needs development time" why the hell did he fight for the damn title in the first place If you're just gonna vacate as soon as there is a tough contender that gets mandated, you were never worthy of being called a champion. It's really not a good look for any champion. Boxing is about testing yourself. There's far too much greatly overprotecting of prospects like Azim, who let's face it probably won't do anything at world level anyway considering 140 is a strong division right now. Take the step forward! Roll the dice! This was the perfect time to make the fight, yet Azim and his team bottled it. They are both are adults in their 20s. Dalton the British Champ, Adam the Euro champ, Both are prospects with a similar number of fights, and similar ranking. Azim was actually ranked ahead of Dalton before Daltons last fight, Both turned pro around the same time, Dalton in 2019, Azim in 2020. And boxing is not a sport where there is fixed anything do with age!, everyone peaks at different ages!! So the age excuses were completely pathetic, desperate and meaningless, and the Azim fans made these excuses because they knew Dalton beats the ** out of Azim!!. The age excuses got even more embarrassing when Azims next opponent was announced as Harlem Eubank aged 31!!! In fact Azim’s resume is full of guys 10 years older than him, The age excuse was always BS. Mike Tyson became world champion aged 20. Devin Haney became world champion aged 20. Tyson Fury was 23 when he went against undefeated Chisora. George Groves was 23 and had only 12 fights when he fought James Degale. Josh Taylor risked it against undefeated O'hara Davies in his 10th fight, fought Miguel Vasquez in his 11th, and Viktor Postol in his 13th fight. If Azim was as good as they claim, he would have simply taken the fight. Azim may never get his payday again. The Mcguigans clearly don't have as much confidence in him as they did Josh Taylor, considering how fast and fearlessly Taylor was moved. It's just disappointing this fight isn't happening. There was a big demand from the fans. Would have been a big fight, and entertaining for a few rounds. But I'd have fully expected a Dalton Smith win by KO, he seems a level above.
I do agree that Dalton would of beaten Adam if the fight would of Been made. However Adam was up for the fight and would of taken it but Shane & Boxxer didn't want it. It's hard to compare Taylors rise with the Mcguigans & Azims as there was a lot of different variables. Dalton is the better fighter atm.
Give your head a shake mate, Azim and Dalton not going anywhere.. as long as they fight in the next few years it's fine .. actually makes it a bigger fight , maybe with world titles on the line .. Dalton needs to crack on and fight for a world title he 27 now .. Adam will deffo fight for one in the next 18 months and he only 21 .. that shows you the levels these guys are on ...Adam being fast tracked due to his raw talent ..
Lol I Plucked YOU out with this thread! You inspired me to make this thread, but that's my truthful thoughts on the whole situation anyway.. 27 is not old, there is no rush like you're claiming, plus he's not even highly ranked yet. He's on the same path at the same time as Azim and they turned pro at the same time. So it made total sense to make the fight for both the European and British title. Yet .. Quack Quack Quack!! Like I said if Mcguigans had any faith in Azim like they did with Josh Taylor when he was coming up and being matched tough, they would have took the fight. Hilarious how you keep making age excuses non-stop, when Azim keeps fighting guys in his 30's. Eubank - aged 31, Poulson aged 31, Petitjean aged 36. And it's evident they are choosing non-punchers to face. Regardless of on paper it looking like he's being fast tracked, in reality he's facing nobodies, old, feather fisted, poor, cherry picked opponents. It's about time Azim faced someone with a pulse.
Actually reading between the lines Dalton ofcourse is a talent and can punch and Azim's team decided now not the time shows that they see Dalton as a dangerous opponent right now for Azim but I seriously think in 12 months if Adam stays active beats Dalton imo .. right now it's a bit of a 50/50 .. Adam just lacks the experience that's all that's missing from Adam 3 fights and he ready to face Dalton imo .. but let's see what happens... They both can do with building their names up more and building this into a super British fight in the near future .. there I said it Adam is a bit too green at the moment for Dalton and no shame in saying that ..
There's no shame in being cautious and protecting your fighters. Boxxer did the same thing with Frazer Clarke against Wardley. They waited a few more months, allowed Clarke to get more experience, allowed the fight to grow and market better, then took the fight and Clarke did incredibly well. Just like Clarke wanted the fight, Azim wants the fight but his camp want to go a different route, which is fine. The fight will obviously happen, when it's right for both fighters.
If you're experienced enough to fight for the European title, you're experienced enough to defend it against Dalton Smith. It's as simple as that, end of.
Anthony Joshua fought for Charles Martin for the IBF title because it was a weak champion ( like azim did for the euro), Imagine if Joshua had vacated straight after because he had a tough mandatory, Imagine if he'd said no I'm not ready to fight Klitschko! He would have been slaughtered for it. It's a terrible look for Azim and Shalom. He'll always be known as the guy who ducked Dalton Smith.
