Adam Azim backed to emulate two British boxing legends: 'He will be a superstar'

Just seven fights into his professional career, Adam Azim has been backed to become the new superstar of British boxing with former champion Johnny Nelson comparing him to the legendary ‘Prince’ Naseem Hamed.

The 20-year-old has blitzed his way through his first seven professional fights, recording six knockout wins in 2022 as part of an ever-growing highlight reel of finishes.

A devastating display against Rylan Charlton last November has seen the hype around the Slough fighter grow further with Azim already drawing comparisons with former unified champion Amir Khan.

The super-lightweight prospect has designs on becoming a world champion at an even younger age than Khan managed, with the Bolton fighter winning his first title at the age of 22 in 2009.

Khan has backed the young fighter the emulate his feats in the ring with Nelson another who believes the hype around Azim is fully warranted.

The former cruiserweight champion fought out of the same Sheffield gym under Brendan Ingle as ‘Naz’ took over the British boxing scene in the 90s and while he and Azim share very different personalities, Nelson is convinced the young prodigy will follow in those footsteps.  

‘I have seen the emergence of UK superstars before. I was around when Nigel Benn came on the scene, when Price Naseem came on the scene,’ Nelson told Metro.co.uk.

‘It’s about having the whole package. Sometimes the only reason you get away with that character is if you are a knockout merchant. Adam is that guy. He ticks all the boxes and he is building his personality slowly and surely and it just reminds me of Naz.

‘Now he is not as brash as Naz was, he doesn’t necessarily have that sort of character but he has everything else. If he keeps going the way he is going, he is not just going to become a world champion but he will be the next UK superstar.

‘Now it is up those around him to make sure he stays on track because all the temptations of life are going to be there to take him off track. If has those people around him, this young man will be a superstar.

‘The only thing he is lacking is the arrogance and the attitude that Naz had. But we all need to have our own personality. He just has to be him. There is an arrogance about how he fights and I love that. There are many talented fighters out there that get distracted by life but I think Adam  is one of those kids who won’t be.’

Azim takes on the unbeaten Santos Reyes at Wembley Arena on Saturday night and is targeting a shot at the European title this summer.

In a measure of his burning ambition, he is also eager to throw down with former unified lightweight champion George Kambosos Jr following his back-to-back defeats to Devin Haney last year.

‘When he is talking like that, these aren’t just words or clickbait, this is something he really believes,’ Nelson continued. ‘Too many fighters talk half-heartedly about things like that. The way Adam is talking, you can tell he believes in that ability he has got.

‘You can tell when someone is bulls******g. This kid isn’t bulls******g. The bold statements he has made, I get them.’

Johnny Nelson is an ambassador of Natural Sports

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