Adam Azim vows to finish Sergey Lipinets' career at Wembley as he plans arrival on world stage

boxing Thursday 9 January 2025 06:23, UK

Adam Azim has vowed to make Sergey Lipinets quit the sport ahead of his fight against the former world champion in London.

The unbeaten 22-year-old takes a sizeable step up in class against Lipinets, a former IBF super-lightweight king, at Wembley Arena on February 1, live on Sky Sports.

But Azim plans to send out a warning to his rivals with a devastating win over his Kazakh opponent.

"I'm looking forward to this fight, it's going to be a huge breakthrough for me," said Azim.

"2025 is definitely when I bring myself through to the world stage," said Azim. "Not just domestically, global [level], I'm going to announce myself on the world stage.

"He's a great fighter, he's a world-class fighter, but with all due respect to him, I'm going to end his career on the day."

Azim, who has nine knockouts on his unbeaten 12-fight record, insists he deserves to be recognised alongside the 'elite' names who have already beaten Lipinets.

He said: "You look at it, Sergey is a good fighter, he's an elite fighter, but has he fought anyone like me?

"He's lost against [Jaron] 'Boots' [Ennis], Mikey Garcia. I'm going to prove myself as an elite fighter.

"I've been in the game for quite a long time now. I started [boxing] at the age of four.

"Years of utter dedication and I'm ready for anyone."

Also on the bill, London cruiserweight rivals Viddal Riley and Isaac Chamberlain will meet in their long-awaited collision.

Chamberlain surrendered the Commonwealth cruiserweight title to Jack Massey in his last fight, as he suffered a third professional defeat, whilst Viddal Riley is aiming to continue to step up in class as he defends his unbeaten 12-0 record.

Riley has accused Chamberlain of keeping quieter than usual in the build-up to their Wembley bout - believing that he's trying to ease the pressure on himself following two defeats in his last four contests.

"Every time that he has a big fight, he always promotes it well, he always talks a lot," explained the 27-year-old. "And then, now it's come to me, he was talking a lot before the fight was agreed - and now it's actually agreed, you can't get [any] words out of him."

Addressing Chamberlain directly, Riley asked: "Are you trying to lessen the pressure? Obviously, there's a lot of pressure on me. There's a lot of pressure on Isaac, but it's a different pressure.

"His pressure is more towards the end. Mine's about growing to what the show's called 'Another Level' - so I feel like, yeah, maybe he's just easing the pressure off his shoulders."

Chamberlain, though, insists he's not going to be sucked into any mind games, and instead is locked in to ensure he delivers a performance to remember in a few weeks' time.

"I don't really do the mind games thing. I'm just how I am," said Chamberlain. "I'm just comfortable in what I'm doing, and yeah, all I'm focused on right now is the fight. All the bravado is cute, but it's just bravado. That's all it is."

He added: "I'm over it now. I've done this a long time, so now, it's time to really dial in on February 1."

Adam Azim will fight Sergey Lipinets at Wembley Arena on February 1, live on Sky Sports. Stream boxing and more with NOW