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“Struggle. Ache. Victory.”
That is what European champion Franck Petitjean is promising to ship when he fights Adam Azim on Saturday evening.
Petitjean places his belt on the road when he containers Azim at The Halls in Wolverhampton, reside on Sky Sports activities from 7pm.
His warning for the rising star was clear. Azim’s time might come, however the Frenchman was adamant it will not be now.
“He is the brand new prospect. There’s lots of people on the market who need him to be like Amir Khan,” Petitjean instructed Sky Sports activities.
“I hope he could have a superb profession. However he is by no means met somebody like me. I’ve had a variety of fights overseas, Turkey, Senegal, Holland, Poland, Denmark and I really like conflict. It would not matter to me.
“I am the champion,” Petitjean continued. “He has to come back, he has to point out that he has sufficient to be a European champion.
“I feel the second a part of the combat goes to very troublesome for him. It may be my combat.”
He has each intention of dragging Azim right into a battle and grinding him down. Petitjean would not really feel like a person risking his championship. As an alternative he appears like a fighter with one other victory to realize.
“I feel he’ll have massive strain,” he stated of Azim.
“I’ve nothing to lose,” he continued, earlier than including darkly: “I really like this sport.”
Petitjean, although the reigning champion, has skilled defeat earlier than. That is one thing Azim, who’s solely had 9 professional fights earlier than this, merely can’t ponder.
“He will know the velocity and the facility, he is not going to come back ahead to me,” Azim instructed Sky Sports activities. “He is aware of what it feels prefer to lose as properly. He will have that mindset the place he would not wish to lose once more. Saturday evening I’ll make him lose once more.”
If Azim is victorious on this, solely his tenth skilled contest, he’ll grow to be the quickest Briton to win the European championship, beating Spencer Oliver’s report.
But although he is had so few bouts, he believes he is already overwhelmed a better customary of opposition than Petitjean has within the latter’s lengthy profession.
“Each boxer’s going to speak. They should massive up the combat, it is half and parcel anyway. He is outdated. He is been round, within the sport fairly a very long time. However I do not assume he is fought the fights that I’ve already fought. He hasn’t fought the calibre of opponents that I’ve,” Azim stated.
“He had a superb win in his final combat [when Petitjean upset Samuel Molina to win the title]. However he’ll really feel the facility, the velocity, every part.
“I feel my customary of opposition has at all times been good. I really feel just like the calibre of opponents that he is fought shouldn’t be that nice.”
Azim has gained expertise with strong victories over Santos Reyes and Aram Faniian this yr.
His promoter Ben Shalom is satisfied these 10-round wins are precisely what Azim wanted. He instructed Sky Sports activities: “I feel due to these two fights we’ll see a profession finest efficiency on Saturday evening. I feel he’ll set the world alight.
“I feel that is the second that he deserves. Plenty of fighters wished to combat for this European belt. He obtained there first, he deserved to get there first. He is doing issues that nobody else is doing at 21 years outdated.
“The place’s the following British famous person? For me Adam Azim is true on the prime of that record and he’ll be trying to show that on Saturday evening.”
Azim believes he can deal with any strategy Petitjean takes within the combat.
“If he comes ahead it is a massive mistake. At the beginning if he comes ahead it is a actually massive mistake. If he walks into one he is undoubtedly going to really feel it,” the Slough fighter stated.
“I do not see what tactic he is obtained to beat me. The one tactic he is obtained might be to get into my mindset however my mindset’s actually targeted.
“When you’ve got an amazing mindset the combat can be good,” he continued. “I am very targeted, very, very targeted.
“I wish to present an amazing masterclass on Saturday evening, it should be Arturo Gatti versus Mayweather. It may be like that.”
‘Poulsen will not neglect what I do to Petitjean’
If Azim is victorious, he might look to make a defence of the European title. The obligatory challenger could be Enock Poulsen.
Denmark’s Poulsen beat Petitjean over 12 rounds final yr and he can be ringside in Wolverhampton to look at this championship combat unfold.
“He is not going to neglect what I do to Petitjean,” Azim stated. “He took Franck Petitjean the total rounds so hopefully I will be the one to knock him out.”
Azim’s coach Shane McGuigan identified: “It is a massive assertion from us, pushing him this far so shortly.
“[Petitjean] is a southpaw, he throws good combos and he is very robust,” McGuigan continued. “It is precisely the combat that we would want. It is an amazing factor to have the ability to have a European title on the tip of it.
“He is obtained a means of getting by way of fights, Petitjean. I do know that Adam’s going to harm him. It is whether or not he’ll end him or not. He has all of the components to have the ability to end him.”
McGuigan does anticipate there “to be a component of threat” although.
“You have to put your self within the firing line,” McGuigan stated. “To ship your pictures and look spectacular and knock folks out, it’s a must to stand there. He is obtained loads of that. He is obtained loads of coronary heart.
“He will must that at some stage. He may not be capable to outspeed everyone.
“Finish of 2024, early 2025 we’re preventing for a [world] belt. That is the plan. We simply must go on the market and execute it.”
Watch Franck Petitjean vs Adam Azim reside on Sky Sports activities Fundamental Occasion from 7pm
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