Adam Azim scored a dominant victory over Sergey Lipinets to win their Wembley Area conflict inside 9 rounds.
Azim was taking a key step up in opposition to the Kazakh, the primary former world champion the Briton had fought in his profession.
Lipinets has held the IBF super-lightweight world title and boxed elite operators like Mikey Garcia, Jaron Ennis and Lamont Peterson.
At 35 years outdated, Lipinets had greater than a decade’s seniority on Azim. However for all of the Kazakh’s expertise of world-class boxing, Azim remained composed. He moved spherical the surface of the ring of their opening spherical, unhurried, as he jabbed into Lipinets.
Azim started to threaten with fast left hooks, and scored to the physique with agency punches. As Lipinets tried to shut him down, Azim greeted the Kazakh with stern, correct proper.
Lipinets felt exhausting left hooks within the second spherical and Azim backed them up with one other cross. He tenderised the physique once more that spherical and commenced to determine his command of the competition.
A jab whistled via between Lipinets’ gloves. That spurred a response. Lipinets chased after Azim, reaching for him with lefts. However he could not pin the Slough stylist down.
A proper uppercut powered via from Azim, connecting cleanly. The Briton’s proper hook caught Lipinets’ glove however a straighter proper discovered the chin.
A breakthrough got here shortly afterwards within the third spherical. Azim smacked Lipinets off his toes with a clear single punch, with Azim, on the retreat, uncorking a superb left hook counterpunch.
Azim controls the motion in opposition to Lipinets
Lipinets landed closely on the canvas. However the robust veteran campaigner beat the depend.
Decided, Lipinets nonetheless got here ahead within the subsequent spherical and lobbed his proper into Azim’s chin. A proper hook additionally caught him out, however Azim did not let it ruffle him.
His left hook although did stray low. The Briton recognised that and, to his credit score, did not comply with up with an assault when Lipinets was clearly in misery. Referee Steve Grey nonetheless deducted a degree from Azim.
Persevering with to marshal the motion, Azim teed up an extended proper uppercut together with his left hook. Then there was a pause within the motion resulting from one other unintended low blow.
Azim would reel off an excellent jab-left hook mixture. His proper hook whipped down and Lipinets felt the total pressure of an uppercut as he blundered onto it.
Low blows strayed into Azim’s work
Azim stood his floor, working within the pocket at shut vary. Hefty overarm rights nonetheless punished Lipinets. He teed off on the Kazakh and marked up the previous champion.
However Azim was nonetheless careless once in a while and one other low blow noticed him deducted one other level within the seventh spherical.
A low blow from Lipinets, maybe in reply, landed within the eighth spherical and the 2 opened up on one another afterwards, buying and selling uppercuts.
Azim was successful the exchanges, his pictures bursting via. A brace of uppercuts from Azim landed flush and Lipinets reeled again.
The best tipped the Kazakh off stability and Lipinets fought again desperately to fend Azim off earlier than the bell rang to finish the eighth.
Azim stops Lipinets within the ninth spherical
Lipinets waded right into a blizzard of uppercuts in the beginning of the following spherical.
Azim rocked him on his heels. The Kazakh swayed, his arms momentarily dropped and referee Steve Grey halted him on his toes 33 seconds into the stanza.
‘I did not even know I would hit him’
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After a dominating win over Sergey Lipinets, Adam Azim referred to as out Dalton Smith.
“My performance was great. I could have dropped the pace a bit in the earlier rounds, but Shane [McGuigan, his trainer] goes: ‘Keep calm, you’re going to catch him,'” Azim mentioned afterwards.
“For the knockdown I didn’t even know I’d hit him. That was just so quick. I had to be patient. To be world class you have to be patient to do your work.
“That is an emotional second for the staff, the household and all of the family members.”
‘Dalton Smith – you ain’t that good!’
Azim did throw down the gauntlet to British rival Dalton Smith.
“I am going to combat whoever my staff counsel, however have you learnt what… Dalton Smith, you’d higher be watching mate – since you ain’t that good, my buddy,” he declared.
“The man you’ve got been combating in your final combat, he ain’t all that. Belief me, I am coming child.
“It’s still marinating, but when I do fight him I’m going to teach him a lesson.”
