Adam Azim and Bradley Rea score huge knockout wins as Viddal Riley impresses on UK professional debut
Amir Khan will fight Kell Brook tonight, live on Sky Sports Box Office, due in the ring from 10.20pm
Saturday 19 February 2022 23:47, UK
Adam Azim and Brad Rea both scored huge knockouts in Manchester on Saturday, after Viddal Riley impressed on his UK professional debut.
Azim, 19, billed as one of British boxing's most exciting prospects, underlined his potential with a third-round knockout win over Jordan Ellison in their super-lightweight contest on the undercard of Amir Khan's grudge match with Kell Brook, which is live on Sky Sports Box Office later on Saturday evening.
The Slough protégé, who is trained by Shane McGuigan, floored Ellison with a vicious body shot in the opening round, displaying lightning speed with both his movement and punches.
Ellison survived the second, but Azim finished the contest in stunning fashion with a huge left hook to take his professional record to 3-0, before delivering his trademark backflip celebration in the middle of the ring.
Earlier, Rea delivered a thrilling first-round knockout victory over Craig McCarthy to maintain an unbeaten start to his career.
The 23-year-old Rea landed two heavy right hands on McCarthy before ending the middleweight contest with a vicious left hook, which sent the Irishman to the canvas.
The victory takes Rea's professional record to 12-0, with Saturday's victory his fifth inside the distance.
Riley showcased his potential on his UK professional debut with a comfortable points victory over Willbeforce Shihepo.
Riley floored his experienced opponent in the opening round with a crushing right hand and was rarely troubled as he dominated the six-round cruiserweight contest to improve his record to 5-0.
Shihepo displayed limited ambition after being stopped in his tracks in the opening stages, and when he did attempt to get to Riley in a fifth-round exchange, the Namibian ended up on the back foot once more.
Greater challenges lie ahead for the 24-year-old Riley, who has endured a stuttering start in the pro ranks since making his debut in 2018 after an impressive amateur career.
Earlier, Germaine Brown won the English super-middleweight title with a points victory over Charlie Schofield.
The 27-year-old Londoner took his professional record to 12-0 with a comfortable unanimous decision in the 10-round contest at the Manchester Arena.
McGuigan: Azim targeting titles this year
Following Azim's victory, his trainer Shane McGuigan says he wants to see the 19-year-old challenging for titles by the end of 2022.
Azim, who said himself earlier this week that he wants to continue fellow British-Pakistani Amir Khan's legacy, did little to dispel the hype that surrounds his young career.
"He has explosive power, he has amazing boxing IQ," McGuigan told Sky Sports Box Office.
"You will see the best of Adam when someone tries to fight because he is a natural counter-puncher.
"We are looking for titles at the end of the year."
Sky Sports' Johnny Nelson said that Azim reminded him of Naseem Hamed, the 19-year-old's boxing idol.
"He is 19 years old and looking at his style it is very Prince Naseem-esque
"Front hands down, he is tapping and tapping and lets go a hook to the head or a shot to the body.
"If he can keep that power and those concussive stoppages up past domestic level this guy will absolutely sell out everything - because a knock-out is what you expect.
"That was his third professional fight. If he keeps it up, you've got gold dust on your hands."
Sky Sports' Carl Froch warned that it's "impossible" to know how good Azim can be at this stage of his career, but was also impressed by the performance.
"It's impossible to say at this early stage," Froch said. "He's got Shane McGuigan blowing his trumpet, telling us how good he can be.
"Around the domestic scene, if you're going to get to world level you need to be taking them out.
"It's nice to see the finishing punch. That gets the crowd excited and gets the popularity up - and he's got the front somersault as well.
"He's got the whole package going for him at the minute."
Watch Khan vs Brook on Saturday, live on Sky Sports Box Office, from 6pm. Book it via your Sky remote or book it online here. Non-Sky TV subscribers can book and watch it here.
