Light-welterweight contender Adam Azim passed his toughest test to date with an impressive eighth-round stoppage win over Ohara Davies at London’s Copper Box Arena.
The 22-year-old from Slough dropped Davies with a body shot in the fifth round.
Davies, 32, gallantly fought on but was floored again three rounds later as a left hook landed flush.
The contest was waved off by the referee before he noticed Davies’ corner frantically waving the towel.
“It was my best performance. I had to be very switched on for him,” Azim, now unbeaten in 12 pro fights, said.
Azim expects to face Harlem Eubank next and then settle a rivalry with Sheffield’s Dalton Smith in 2025.
The pair were ordered to fight for the European title but Azim vacated his belt, leading to a public spat between the two teams.
Davies, meanwhile, said it “might be the end” for his career, after a fourth defeat in 29 pro fights.
“I feel like you have to know when your time is done. You don’t want to stay in this sport for too long and take too much,” he added.
