The Azim brothers prepare to fulfil childhood dream on Khan undercard
EXCLUSIVE: Adam and Hassan Azim are preparing to fulfil their childhood dreams by fighting on idol Amir Khan’s undercard this weekend… but Shane McGuigan’s two new charges are setting the bar even higher as they eye world domination
- Adam and Hassan Azim will be fighting on the Amir Khan vs Kell Brook undercard
- The brothers, 19 and 21 respectively, both idolised Khan in their younger years
- Now the decorated amateurs are carving out their own professional careers
- Shane McGuigan believes they both have what it takes to become ‘superstars’
- Adam and Hassan spoke with Sportsmail ahead of their big outings on Saturday
Hours before Amir Khan takes to the ring for a career-defining battle with Kell Brook, two brothers with burning desires to follow in the footsteps of their British-Pakistani hero will capture boyhood dreams by competing on his undercard at Manchester Arena.
Hassan and Adam Azim, 21 and 19, first fell in love with the sport of boxing while watching Khan swashbuckle his way to household-name status on both these shores and across the pond. Now, more than a decade on, they will serve as warm-up acts for the 35-year-old on one of his most crucial evenings inside the squared circle.
‘The first ever boxing show I went to was Amir Khan against Michael Gomes. I was five years old,’ Adam, a highly-decorated amateur with two professional victories under his belt at lightweight, tells Sportsmail.
Adam and Hassan Azim will be fighting on the Amir Khan vs Kell Brook undercard this Saturday
‘I was sitting ringside with my dad, this was 14 years ago, and luckily enough I’m now fighting on Khan’s undercard.
‘I’ve been inspired since I was a kid and now I’ve got the opportunity of a lifetime, fighting on Sky Box Office, this is just an amazing platform and it’s an inspiration for all other kids as well.’
Hassan, who won on his welterweight debut last November and enjoyed an equally-successful amateur career, interjects: ‘Khan was the first fighter that I ever watched, so now to be on his undercard is a big dream come true.
‘I’m going to suck it all in and make sure I experience everything, it’s going to be a good night. I grew up watching Amir and now I’m on his undercard. It’s mad isn’t it?’
The two brothers idolised fellow British-Pakistani fighter Khan when growing up
Adam was ringside for one of the former light-welterweight champion’s early contests
Now he and brother Hassan will be fighting on their childhood hero’s undercard this weekend
Born in Pakistan, Hassan made the move to England at the tender age of six months when his mother and father packed up and relocated to Slough in Berkshire. Then came the birth of Adam a couple of years later, and it was his younger sibling’s struggle with ADHD which led them both to boxing.
‘I was really hyperactive as a kid and dad wanted me to be a boxer because I was so enthusiastic,’ Adam recalls. ‘I had ADHD and needed something to drain my energy, so we went to the local boxing gym and started from there.’
Hassan then says: ‘I was on the side watching Adam train and at the age of 12 I tried on my first pair of boxing gloves, did my first bit of sparring and did really well. So from there onwards I became a boxer.’
Adam first ventured into boxing as an energetic youngster looking to channel his ADHD
It didn’t take long for the Azim brothers to begin showcasing the raw, explosive talent which has got many a tongue wagging on the domestic scene. Adam, known for his blistering hand speed and devastating accuracy, swept up every national amateur title available to him in England and became the world’s No 1 ranked youth amateur at welterweight.
Hassan, meanwhile, slowly and steadily collected a host of amateur prizes before taking a bronze medal at the youth Olympic Games, having ventured into the sport later than his brother. Yet he admits: ‘I never had any belief that I would tick all the boxes, but I had my parents and people around me that supported me, encouraged me, and I wouldn’t be where I am today without them.
‘Especially my mum and dad, they’ve been there since day one. They know my pain, they know everything I’ve been through and they’re why I am where I am today.
‘It’s only now that people are starting to encourage me more, but I’ve got a lot of love for my parents, because if they didn’t support me then I wouldn’t be here in boxing right now.’
Hassan soon followed in his brother’s footsteps and went on to win a youth Olympic bronze
While his brother was in need of a confidence boost when plying his trade as an amateur, Adam has never lacked self-belief and instead waltzed through his early contests with a swaggering aplomb. He is adamant that the transition into professional prize-fighting will be just as smooth.
‘I won every single national title that I could ever win. I have the record of winning every amateur title in England,’ the teenager gushes. ‘Because I was staying focused and I had my dad there with me, all the success was coming. But the amateurs was just a learning curve, now in the pro game this is where I step up, this is where I dominate and get to the top quickly.’
The Azim brothers are embarking on their professional journeys under the esteemed tutelage of Shane McGuigan, who has enjoyed his own rapid ascent to the top of world boxing as a trainer in recent years.
The pair are embarking on their professional boxing journeys under Shane McGuigan
Adam insists they are working under the best coach in world boxing in McGuigan
After taking on his first major coaching role with Carl Frampton as a 22-year-old and helping the Northern Irishman become a two-weight champion, McGuigan, now 33, has since guided the likes of George Groves and Lawrence Okolie to world honours, while masterminding Josh Taylor’s unified success at light-welterweight.
It’s fair to say he knows a potential champion when he sees one, and McGuigan is backing the Azim brothers to become household names like their hero Khan. ‘Superstars in the making for sure,’ he insists.
The admiration is certainly mutual, with Adam saying: ‘Shane is the best trainer in the UK and probably the best trainer in the world. He’s made multiple world champions and every day I’m in the gym with him I’m always improving. I’ve got the best trainer in the world and that’s all I need.’
Hassan then adds: ‘When I first heard about Shane it was just that he’s a great coach, he’s got a great stable with the likes of Chris Billam-Smith, Okolie, Anthony Fowler, some great fighters, so for Shane to take us on is a big blessing for us.
‘I know what Shane is like, he’s a really good coach, and I’ve changed my style a lot so it’s actually made it easier for me as well. I’m fitter, stronger, faster. You’ll see in my second pro fight next week, all this training is gonna add up to it.’
McGuigan will be in the corner when Adam and Hassan take the latest steps on their route to boxing stardom at Manchester Arena this weekend. The brothers from Slough have a golden opportunity to draw widespread attention and gain further admirers while strutting their stuff on Sky Box Office, where millions will be tuning in to watch Khan settle his long-running feud with Brook later in the evening.
Though in the future, both Adam and Hassan are expecting to be headline acts in their own right.
Adam is setting his sights on becoming an undisputed champion in the sport
Hassan, meanwhile, insists he will be taking things slowly up in the professional ranks
‘I want to become a multiple world champion, I want to be undisputed as well in one of the divisions,’ Adam explains. ‘Being undisputed, that’s the next level. But obviously the first step is just to become world champion, get the Commonwealth, WBA intercontinental, all the smaller belts you get, then it’s the world championship.
‘My dream is to leave a legacy behind, become undisputed and stay undefeated.’
‘That’s the same as me,’ Hassan responds. ‘I just want to take my time. I’ve done the amateur game, but in the pro game I’m going to take my time, go up the ladder slowly, one step at a time and not looking too far ahead.
‘Eventually I’m going to be at the top.’
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