This past Saturday night, Adam Azim captured the EBU title at 140-pounds, with a knockout win over Franck Petitjean.
He is now bound to make a mandatory defense against challenger Enock Poulsen, who was ringside and came to face with Azim in the aftermath.
Poulsen, also undefeated, never lost the EBU title in the ring. He was removed from the belt after becoming ill, which prevented him from defending his belt.
“The title is mine. Adam Azim’s only borrowing it,” Poulsen said.
However, Azim strongly disagrees with that position.
“He fought Petitjean and he didn’t stop him and it was a bit of a closer fight. With me I stopped him and it shows my level as well,” Azim told Sky Sports. “I’m up there at world level. I’ve got the stoppage, it shows him as well that I’m a threat.
Azim dropped Petitjean in the fifth round with a body shot and then finished him off in the tenth with a barrage of uppercuts.
“[Petitjean’s] manager came up to me and said he said: ‘He’s the fastest and most powerful guy I’ve ever fought’ and I’m the only guy to stop him in nine years,” Azim said.
“What I did wrong was I rushed my stoppage, I tried to get the stoppage so early. I stood my ground. I knew the stoppage was coming, I knew it was probably going to come in nine or 10. I was breaking him down and it was like a big beatdown as well.
“[At the finish] I threw an uppercut and he just went down. I think he felt the power, the speed and he knew it was a beatdown. So it was good. I wanted to win it by knockout and I did that.”
The fight with Poulsen will likely take place in the early months of 2024.