Aram Fanyan warns Adam Azim ahead of Saturday's clash: 'No one will beat him as strongly as I will!'
Aram Fanyan promises to "test the chin" of Adam Azim, but trainer Shane McGuigan warns: "He's what people can't prepare for"; Azim fights Fanyan on the undercard of Liam Smith vs Chris Eubank Jr at the AO Arena in Manchester on Sky Sports Box Office on Saturday
Friday 1 September 2023 17:08, UK
Adam Azim has fast built a reputation as a knockout artist of uncommon speed and spite.
But his next opponent, Ukraine's Aram Fanyan, who has vastly more professional experience than Azim, is almost offended that he's considered the underdog in their contest.
"I can say that Adam Azim is not the best fighter. He's young, he has speed but you, all of them here, say about him that he is a top prospect, we can't say so because he has only eight fights. I have already more than 20 fights. I got two titles," he told Sky Sports.
"Saturday night will show everything, who is real."
Fanyan takes on Azim on the undercard of Liam Smith's Sky Sports Box Office clash with Chris Eubank Jr.
"I will see him on Saturday. For me he is a usual fighter with two legs, two hands and one head," the Ukrainian warns.
"We don't want to say about his weaknesses but on Saturday night all UK fans will see his weakness.
"Nobody will beat him as strongly as I will. Of course it will be a test of his chin, it will be a very difficult night for Adam Azim."
Azim's trainer Shane McGuigan believes Fanyan is exactly the type of fight Azim needs to set himself up for a world championship in future.
"It's a very good fight," McGuigan told Sky Sports. "It's not a foregone conclusion that we're just going to go in there and blitz him. It's going to take patience and on paper it's a hard fight. I think it is potentially a hard fight as well.
"He dropped Timo Schwarzkopf a few times and not many people do that so he's obviously got power and probably accuracy so we're going to have to be on point.
"I think this is a harder fight than the European champion. But it's exactly what he needs to get to world level, which is where we want to go."
But McGuigan insisted Azim is at "a different level".
"He's what people can't prepare for. They can't get sparring to prepare for him," the trainer said.
"Sparring Viktor Postol and stuff is not the same as Adam Azim. Shots coming at you with speed and from positions you're not used to seeing and he can really whack.
"But we have to be on point and break him down and not go out there looking for a big performance early. This fight is all about patience. It's all about how Adam Azim deals with the pressure, deals with the patience.
"If he gets hit with a shot, make sure he doesn't get hit by another, weather the storm and these are all things that he's going to need to learn as a fighter anyway before getting up to world level.
"These are the fights that when you look back at, when you're fighting for a world title or when you become world champion, you say, 'I needed that then'. That's why I've always called for this."
Liam Smith vs Chris Eubank Jr II is live on Sky Sports Box Office on Saturday. Book it now
