Hearn Confident Azim Won’t Take Smith Fight, “The McGuigans Are Smart People, They Know How Good Dalton Is”
- The BBBofC and the EBU have jointly ordered Dalton Smith vs Adam Azim to be next
- BOXXER CEO Ben Shalom believes that the fight needs to be on the ‘right platform’
- Eddie Hearn is willing to let the fight be on Sky but doubts BOXXER will let it happen
Dalton Smith vs Adam Azim is the fight that everyone wants next.
Including the EBU who have mandated Azim (11-0, 8 KOs) to defend his European title against Smith (15-0, 11 KOs) and the BBBofC with the Slough man being made the mandatory challenger for the popular Steel City Lonsdale belt holder.
Smith and Azim are aligned with rival promotional companies, Smith with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing and Azim is with Ben Shalom’s BOXXER. This has thrown a lot of doubt on the chances of the fight happening and Hearn shares those feelings.
Eddie Hearn on Dalton Smith vs Adam Azim
“They’ll pull Adam Azim out of the fight”, Hearn told Boxing Social, “I wanted to make it clear that it’s a 50-50 purse bid. Whatever you’re prepared to pay Adam Azim, just offer Dalton Smith the same.”
The Matchroom head is willing to let BOXXER do the fight on Sky so the ‘platform’ is not an excuse as Shalom hinted last week that it would have to be on his chosen network.
“We’ll do it on Sky so there’s no politics, I won’t even go to purse bids. Just make the offer.”
However, Hearn doesn’t believe that the handlers of Azim fancy his chances against Smith.
“There is no way they’ll take that fight against Dalton Smith. Adam Azim is a brilliant fighter but Shane McGuigan (the McGuigans) are smart people. They ain’t fighting Dalton Smith right now, they know how good Dalton Smith is.”
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Dalton Smith Image: Glenn Ashley, Adam Azim Image: Lawrence Lustig/BOXXER