"I believed so much I was levels above him. I knew I would beat him - but I didn't know I would stop him that early"; watch some of boxing's fastest-ever knockouts, including Adam Azim's against Connor Marsden in the video below...
Monday 11 April 2022 17:01, UK
Adam Azim says he is "coming for the lightweight division" following on from his sensational 30.2-second knockout victory over Connor Marsden in his fourth professional fight last month.
Azim floored Southern Area lightweight champion Marsden with a left hand as early as 11 seconds in before the fight was stopped soon after when Marsden was swiftly dropped a second time.
The 19-year-old Azim, who counts Amir Khan and Prince Naseem Hamed among his boxing heroes, has promised that he still has far more to come.
Speaking exclusively to Sky Sports, Azim said: "Everyone can expect Adam Azim to be at the top.
"I want to achieve a lot. You guys can expect more knockouts, you're going to see a lot of new stuff from me.
"I'm coming for the lightweight division - I don't care what anyone says."
Azim added on his rapid knockout of Marsden: "I wanted to give a great statement for everyone.
"Stopping this guy, and knocking him out that quick, a lot of people are going to be talking about me, saying, 'what's he got next?'
"I've had three fights straight where I've knocked the guys out. Everyone is going to expect me to knock the next guy out again."
Describing his knockout of Marsden in more detail, Azim said he knew early on that the 6ft 2in fighter was susceptible, with his coach Shane McGuigan sharing the belief in the build-up.
"I believed so much I was levels above him. I knew I would beat him - but I didn't know I would stop him that early," Azim said.
"I thought I'd break him down, probably stop him in the third or fourth, but Shane said to me: 'if you land one shot on his chin, he'll drop.'
"He threw two jabs early and I knew for a fact I could counter over it.
"I knew he was going to throw another jab straight after I threw a shot, so I did a full counter, missed with the right hand, but came back with the screwshot jab.
"When I hit the guy, I was like 'wow, this guy has dropped already.' I knew straight away, once I'd got him, he was going to get stopped."
Azim's win places him among some of the great names of boxing, including heroes Khan and Hamed, in delivering one of the sport's fastest knockouts.
And for Azim, the way in which he wins is almost just as important as the victory itself.
"The boxing game is all about entertainment," he added.
"Amir Khan had tremendous fast hands, he was knocking people out and entertaining, then you've got Naz doing the flip into the ring and then again afterwards - while in between would do some funny things in the fight.
"A lot of people like that. If you're being boring, no-one is going to watch you.
"There's a lot of new stuff coming but I'm not going to give anything away just yet."
Click on the video at the top of the page to watch some of boxing's fastest-ever knockouts detailed below...
8) Khan vs Lo Greco - 38.4 seconds
April 21, 2018
Khan's first fight back in almost two years. Having suffered his own first round knockout loss against Breidis Prescott in 2008, he also stopped Dmitry Salita in one minute and 16 seconds a year later.
7) Williams vs Meehan - 32.4 seconds
June 9, 2001
One of thirteen career first round KOs for Danny Williams, who went on to beat Mike Tyson in 2004. Kali Meehan recovered to fight for a heavyweight world title in 2004 and almost won the WBO heavyweight belt against Lamon Brewster.
6) Tyson vs Savarese - 31.5 seconds
June 24, 2000
Tyson was notorious for fast starts, with 23 professional wins in the first round. Lou Savarese also shared a ring with heavyweight champions Evander Holyfield, James "Buster" Douglas and George Foreman. After boxing, Savarese became an actor and appeared in The Sopranos.
5) Hamed vs Lawal - 30.3 seconds
March 16, 1996
Said Lawal had never been stopped before sharing a ring with the heavy hands of Prince Naseem Hamed. Naz's explosive punching style gave him 18 wins in the first three rounds. Regularly his theatrical ringwalks were longer than the fights.
4) Azim vs Marsden - 30.2 seconds
March 26, 2022
Adam Azim idolises Naz and Amir Khan but outdid them both by securing a faster knockout victory than either. Connor Marsden had himself won via a first-round knockout on his professional debut.
3) Eubank vs Dos Santos - 20.4 seconds
September 22, 1990
Chris Eubank landed a trademark right hand just 11 seconds into his fight with Reginaldo dos Santos. He would face Nigel Benn for the first time less than two months later and win by ninth-round KO.
2) Docherty vs Latimer - 18.5 seconds
October 13, 2018
John Docherty produced quite possibly the fastest-ever boxing debut victory. His opponent Jordan Latimer had won his only two pro fights and was confident of causing an upset in Newcastle. In 12 professional fights, Docherty has already won four in the first round.
1) Dunstan vs Gurov - 17.6 seconds
February 14, 1998
Terry Dunstan fought for the IBF cruiserweight world title in his next fight but lost to Imamu Mayfield in Hull. Alexander Gurov, meanwhile, was also stopped in 45 seconds by David Haye when they clashed in 2005. Dunstan's pro career ended when he was also stopped dramatically inside the first round by Ola Afolabi in 2002.
Honorable mentions:
Seniesa Estrada v Miranda Atkins - 7 seconds
Zolani Tete v Siboniso Gonya - 11 seconds
Jimmy Thunder v Crawford Grimsley - 13 seconds
