Adam Azim should ignore the ‘public pressure’ to take a British battle against Dalton Smith, says Sky Sports expert Johnny Nelson.
The 22-year-old Azim takes another sizeable step-up in class when he faces Sergey Lipinets, a former world champion, at Wembley Arena on Saturday night, live on Sky Sports.
Smith sparked more calls for a showdown with Azim after a first-round stoppage of Walid Ouizza last weekend.
But Nelson has told Sky Sports: “Adam needs to concentrate on his business, because if you try to match the performance of an adversary then what happens is it affects your own performance.
“Adam needs to stay in his own lane, do what he does well.
“Dalton Smith, we see his class in his performances, we see how good he is. But Adam is improving constantly all the way through.
“Right now, Adam can ignore him [Smith].
Dalton Smith says a potential fight with Adam Azim is ‘heating up nicely’ and will be big enough to top a major bill in the future
“He can ignore the pressure of the public and say, ‘I’m doing my own journey and we’ll cross paths eventually.’
“It’s the pressure from the public that makes fights too early or too late in a career. Adam is in a position where if I was him, I would grow, because no-one is beating him eventually.
“If I was Dalton’s people, I’d keep the pressure on, publicly try to embarrass him and put the squeeze on him. That’s what Dalton is doing.”
Trainer Shane McGuigan has described Azim as a ‘superstar’ and believes he can emulate the achievements of American stars such as Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis and Ryan Garcia.
Highlights from the Super-Lightweight showdown between Adam Azim and Ohara Davies
“Shane knows Adam and he knows what will inspire him,” Nelson told Sky Sports. “He knows what he’s capabilities are.
“Some of it is showmanship and ‘my fighter can do X,Y,Z’, but Shane McGuigan doesn’t strike me as a trainer who over extends himself.
“Just because these are big names, people think it’s an impossibility for Adam, because you’re not used to these names being used in the same sentence.
“But why not? Adam is a good fighter and all he’s done is grow, but because these guys are big names in America, it doesn’t mean you can write them off.
“If you talk about it now, it becomes a reality in maybe 18 months or two years – that’s what Shane is doing. The way Adam is going, that’s why he is talking him up.”
Watch Adam Azim vs Sergey Lipinets on Saturday, live on Sky Sports from 7pm. Not got Sky? Get Sky Sports or stream with no contract on NOW.
