“Don’t blink!”
That’s the message from young lightweight sensation Adam ‘The Assassin’ Azim one day out from his championship showdown with the undefeated Santos Reyes in the main event of Saturday’s BOXXER Fight Night, airing live on Sky Sports Arena from 8pm.
Effortlessly making weight, the electrifying 20-year-old has a steadily growing army of fans thanks to last year’s string of stunning performances as he kicked off his professional career in style.
Azim was declared the Young Fighter of the Year 2022 by BBC Sport and now is a day away from headlining a major British arena for the first time. Reyes – undefeated and hailing from the storied boxing nation of Nicaragua – will provide his toughest test to date, but Azim has no concerns.
A war of words developed between Zak Chelli and American opponent Anthony Sims at Wednesday’s press conference and Chelli’s dislike for his Californian antagonist has only deepened in the intervening days.
WHEAT TIME IS THE AZIM VS. REYES FIGHT?
- Date: Saturday, February 11
- Main card: 8 p.m. GMT / 3 p.m. ET
- Main event ringwalks (approx): 11 p.m. GMT / 6 p.m. ET
- Sky Sports will broadcast the fight in the UK, FITE TV in the US
- The main card is set to get underway at 8 p.m. GMT / 3 p.m. ET with the main event ringwalks scheduled for 11 p.m. GMT / 6 p.m. ET.
- The fight will take place at the OVO Arena Wembley, London.
“I am done talking, I just want to hurt this man. His arrogance, his persona, I just hate him,,” said Chelli after making weight.
Sims, standing close by, retorted with indignation. “Arrogance? The nerve! I guarantee you he’s going to hit the canvas. The Magician is back and I am going to make a statement baby!”
A similarly heated note has saturated every interaction between Viddal Riley and Anees Taj in the run-up to this fight, largely stemming from Taj.
Irked by suggestions that he’s overmatched, Taj has made strong statements of intent to finish Riley inside the distance. Today though, he wore headphones to the weigh-ins and was in no mood to talk.
“Talking is done, time to work,” said Taj, only briefly uncovering one ear to respond to Sky Sports presenter Andy Scott’s request for final comments.
When the mic passed to Riley, he voiced agreement. “Yeah he’s right, we’ve done enough talking. Tomorrow night we get to put hands on him, get him out of there and move on.”
The full card and weigh-in results are as follows:
Adam Azim (Slough) (10st 0 lbs) vs. Santos Reyes (Nicaragua) (10st 0 lbs)
WBA International Super-Lightweight Contest @ 10st (10 x 3 Mins)
Zak Chelli (Fulham) (11st 13 lbs) vs. Anthony Sims (USA) (11st 13 lbs)
WBA International Super-Middleweight Contest @ 12st (10 x 3 Mins)
Tyler Denny (Birmingham) (11st 6 lbs) vs. Brad Pauls (Harlow) (11st 5 lbs)
English Middleweight Championship @ 11st 6 lbs (10 x 3 Mins)
Viddal Riley (Tottenham) (14st 2 lbs) vs. Annes Taj (Watford) (14st 2 lbs 5oz)
8 x 3 Mins Cruiserweight Contest @ 14st 4lbs
Caroline Dubois (Romford) (9st 11 lbs) vs.Feriche Mashaury (Tanzania) (9st 12 lbs)
8 x 3 Mins Lightweight Contest @ 9st 12lbs
Jeamie TKV (Tottenham) (18st 8 lbs) vs. Harry Armstrong (Torquay) (18st 7 lbs 5 oz)
8 x 3 Mins Heavyweight Contest
Hassan Azim (Slough) (10st 9 lbs 5 oz) vs. Abdallah Luanja (10st 4 lbs) (Tanzania)
6 x 3 Mins Welterweight Contest @ 10st 10lbs
Stephen McKenna (Ireland) (10st 13 lbs) vs. Brendon Denes (10st 11 lbs) (Zimbabwe)
8 x 3 Mins Welterweight Contest @ 10st 10lbs
Jordan Reynolds (Luton) (12st 3 lbs 5 oz) vs. Mohamed Cherif (France) (12st 5 lbs)
6 x 3 Mins Super-Middleweight Contest @ 12st 2lbs
Razor Ali (Maida Vale) (8st 12 lbs) vs. Hector Lozano (Mexico) (8st 13 lbs 5 oz)
4/6 x 3 Mins Featherweight Contest @ 9st