Adam Azim (8-0, 6 KO’s) will next month face Ukrainian Aram Fanyan (22-1, 4 KO’s) at London’s historic York Hall on Friday, June 16th.
The 20-year-old prodigy has former world champion Amir Khan predicting he will win his first world championship before 22, the age Khan first became champion.
In pursuit of his fast-track to contention, Azim steps up another level again for his next opponent when he faces Fanyan, who has nearly three times the amount of professional experience and has lost just once in his career.
Caroline Dubois (6-0, 5 KO’s), Azim’s stablemate at McGuigan’s Gym under noted trainer Shane McGuigan, is also taking a step up in opposition on June 16th as she seeks to continue her rise to the top of her division.
Yanina del Carmen Lescano (13-2, 4 KO’s) was just one scorecard away from becoming IBO World Lightweight Champion last year, losing her March 2022 title challenge against 2016 Olympic gold medallist Estelle Mossely by way of a split-decision which sparked much debate among boxing’s fanbase.
Since then she has made three more defences of the South American Lightweight Championship she won in 2020. Two of those three wins have come by way of knockout, the most recent being a quick finish in her native Argentina last month.
Riding a five-fight streak of KO and TKO wins, Dubois is also a proven fight-finisher.
Previously scheduled for June 10th – the same day as the Champion’s League Final – the event will now take place in the same venue on Friday, June 16th and will air live and exclusively on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Showcase in the UK and Ireland.
All tickets purchased for the sold-out event on the original date remain valid for the new date.
The move comes as a result of changes to the programming schedule following the recent relocation of the blockbuster Liam Smith and Chris Eubank Jr event to a new date of July 1st – a result of Smith extending his training camp by two weeks to work around a minor injury – and also avoids a clash with the Champions League Final taking place that night.
“With the event already sold out, we’re expecting an incredible atmosphere in York Hall on Friday, June 16th as Adam Azim headlines for the third time in his young professional career. His Ukrainian opponent Aram Fanyan is dangerous and experienced – it’s a very tough test for Adam as he continues his remarkable rise,” remarked BOXXER’s promoter and CEO Ben Shalom.
“Caroline Dubois is taking on an incredible challenge on June 16th as well. Yanina Lescano nearly became world champion last year, a lot of people felt she won that fight against Estelle Mossely and should be champion now.
“For Caroline to be facing a recent world title contender in just her seventh professional fight speaks volumes about her level and her heart. I’ve always said she’s going to be the future face of women’s boxing and it’s fights like this which will get her there.
“The fact we’re moving from the same evening as the Champions League Final is a total coincidence but it’s definitely welcome news for those fans who were set to spend their night double-screening between this card and the football. I expect a few of the fighters on the card will be quite pleased as well!”
Other treats on the June 16th card include the return to the ring of slick super-middleweight Callum Simpson (11-0, 9 KO’s), a hotly-tipped prospect by boxing insiders, and a highly-charged rematch between feuding cruiserweights Viddal Riley (8-0, 5 KO’s) and Anees Taj (7-3, 5 KO’s).
It’s a literal ‘bad blood’ second tilt: Riley won their February fight by way of doctor’s stoppage due to a cut over Taj’s eyebrow, but neither man was satisfied with the conclusion and they now seek a more definitive end to their feud.