Watch Adam Azim take on Connor Marsden in his fourth professional fight on the undercard of Richard Riakporhe's cruiserweight showdown with Deion Jumah, live on Sky Sports on March 26
Monday 21 March 2022 17:46, UK
Adam Azim dreams of going unbeaten like Floyd Mayweather Jr, he aims to dazzle like Prince Naseem and Amir Khan, and he wants to win a world title at a young age like all three of them.
He wants to be the best, he wants to entertain, and he hopes the two can go hand-in-hand as he continues his ascent on the professional stage.
That resumes on Saturday when the 19-year-old fights Southern Area champion Connor Marsden on the undercard of Richard Riakporhe's cruiserweight clash with Deion Jumah at Wembley Arena.
Azim boasts a blossoming reputation as one of Britain's rising prospects in the super-lightweight division, and enters his fourth professional bout on the back of a third-round knockout win over Jordan Ellison in Manchester last month.
And while he knows goals must be tempered for now, he is not afraid to set the bar high for himself.
"I've just got to stay focused, stay grounded, just to keep my head firmly down. I've got ambitions and targets to achieve and my target is to become a world champion at a really young age, 21, 22.
"I want to become the youngest world champion.
"I want to stay undefeated until I retire like Floyd Mayweather, that would be one of my dreams."
A familiar theme to Azim's emergence has been a trademark celebratory back-flip in the ring, reflective of both his desire to entertain and the influence of a magic carpet-riding idol, with whom his style and flare has drawn comparisons.
"This is how it is," he said. "In boxing you've got to show entertainment, you won't see any other fighter that has my style, I like to show a bit of flare, movement, power and I do a back-flip straight after which is what everyone expects me to do as well. That's my signature move.
"Prince Naseem entertained a lot of non-boxing fans. He's a superstar, he entertained a lot of people. Amir Khan is one of my inspirations as well, Prince Naseem, them two together I want to be like them."
The victory over Ellison served as the latest insight into Azim's blend of blistering speed and the power to put his opponent down with a fierce body shot in the first round.
For trainer Shane McGuigan, it was a mere glimpse of what he believes his latest case study is capable of.
"This is where we want to go with Adam, we want to take these strides and steps pretty early on in his career," McGuigan told Sky Sports. "He's super, super talented. He's boxed everyone and beat everyone to date in first gear.
"What we see in the gym when he's getting pushed back, he's a special fighter, so looking forward to Saturday night with Adam. I think it's going to be a real showcase of his ability."
McGuigan has reined in suggestions Azim can challenge the feats of Naseem Hamed at such an early stage in his career, but insists he is working with a world champion in-the-making.
"It's going to be hard to break records when it comes to world titles," he added. "I think Prince Naseem was 21 or 22, he [Azim] is about to turn 20 in July so it's a little far-fetched to say he'll be fighting for world titles that soon, but he's going to achieve things early on in his career, no doubt.
"My dad (Barry McGuigan) was a world champion at 24, so he's got somebody to bounce off.
"When you achieve a lot of that success early on in your life, it can really change the dynamic of things, you don't really go through adult life as a normal person, you're sort of put under the spotlight so there's a lot of big change that's going to be happening.
"He's prepared his whole life for it so I've got no doubts he'll become world champion."
Watch Adam Azim take on Connor Marsden in his fourth professional fight on the undercard of Richard Riakporhe's cruiserweight showdown with Deion Jumah, live on Sky Sports on March 26
