FIGHT NIGHT REVIEW- BOXXER ADAM AZIM CARD
Adam Azim headlined his 2nd successive fight last night at the Ovo Arena in Wembley. No Smoke Boxing were in attendance and here is a break down of the full main card;
CAROLINE DUBOIS VS FERICHE MASHAURY
In the first bout of the Adam Azim vs Santos Reyes main card, Caroline Dubois extended her perfect professional record to 6-0, 5 KOs with a third round TKO win over lat notice opponent Feriche Mashaury in her first eight rounder.
Dubois dominated from the off, throwing spiteful shots and loading up on overhand left. There wasn’t a clear major punch but she scored a knockdown in the 2nd round through relentless output which Mashaury just couldn’t stand up to. Although she looked like she came to fight, Caroline was too much for her and eventually the referee called it off in the 3rd round as he deemed Mashaury had had enough.
Dubois is ready for a big step up now preferably against an recent ex Katie Taylor opponent.
TYLER DENNY VS BRAD PAULS
This was billed to be very much a 50/50 and the early rounds certainly backed this up with it being very tough to split them apart. The 3rd round was pretty much the same with Pauls leading with his jab but a powerful shot just before the bell saw Denny pinch the round. Into the 4th and Denny started to land the cleaner shots. From there Denny seemed to control the fight wining most rounds but Pauls showed a lot of heart and stuck in there with him till the end.
All 3 judges scored it comfortably in favour of Tyler Denny, who retained his English title and won the British middleweight championship eliminator placing him one step closer to a fight with Denzel Bentley.
VIDDAL RILEY VS ANEES TAJ
Viddal Riley looked too sharp for Anees Taj from the first bell with his jab landing consistently. Taj showed throughout the build up though that he had his own ambitions and that proved true on the night as tried to trade up in the centre of the ring with the much sharper and more accurate Riley.
Towards the end of the 2nd round the momentum seemed to shift slightly with Taj having a bit more success and a clean overhand right seemed to momentarily shake the legs off Riley – the biggest shot he’s taken in his career but he passed the ‘chin check’ with flying colours.
Into the 3rd round and Riley landed a huge right hand that caused a major cut above the left eye Anees Taj, 30 seconds later he landed there again as blood streamed down the face of Taj. Anees lived up to his “Braveheart” nickname and beat against his chest to say he wanted to continue but despite work in the corner, as Taj came out for the 4th round the referee deemed the cut too bad and waved it off
ZAK CHELLI VS ANTHONY SIMS JR
The Co-Main event was a bit lacklustre in the opening rounds, a tentative Sims Jr didn’t seem to want to commit to any shots on the front foot. Zak seemed to ease into the fight quicker and was landing cleaner shots and looking thew more aggressive of the two. The best shot of the fight so far came in the 5th with Zak Chelli landing a big right hand on Sims J which, with Sims Jr not offering a great deal back, was enough to see Chelli win another round.
The next couple of rounds were much of the same with Chelli landing the better shots and Sims Jr not having much success. The fight seemed to turn on its heads in the 8th with Sims Jr showing a sense of urgency and hurting Chelli but seemed to tire quick and couldn’t maintain the pressure. The pendulum swung back the other way in the 9th though with Chelli possibly having his best round of the fight, pinning Sims Jr to the ropes with a flurry of shots.
The fight went the distance and Chelli was the man with his hand raised with a unanimous decision from the judges. Very impressive performance from Chelli and a hugely disappointing showing from Sims.
MAIN EVENT: ADAM AZIM VS SANTOS REYES
Adam Azim started sharp and fast as always, an explosive puncher emitting dynamite everytime he lets his hands go. The young star immediately put Reyes onto the back foot, the Nicaraguan looked bewildered in there at times and clearly out of his comfort zone.
Azim stunned Reyes in the second with a punch that sent him stumbling back before scoring the knockdown. The 20-year-old went in for the kill but the more experienced South American held a tight guard and fired back enough to keep Azim off and thinking.
Azim went back to his boxing, attempting to expose the holes in Reyes’ defence and land the perfect punch – a punch that didn’t come for him in this fight. The pace noticebaly slowed down in the second half and he seemed to use his right hand less, indicating there might have been a problem with it. Reyes also had some success in those rounds, the 6th/7th/8th, landing on Azim for what seems like the first time his career.
The criticisms for Azim included a lack of creativity in breaking the defence and single or doubles instead of combination punching which saw him struggle to hurt Reyes as the early speed/power evaporated and the fight progressed.
He went the distance for the first time though and gained some valuable rounds in the bank, people will flaw the matchmaking if it finishes early and flaw Adam Azim if the fight goes the distance but there was nothing to fault here. Azim found a durable, undefeated guy who knew how to survive and this time he didn’t get him out…
By Lee Browne and Darshan Desai