After a long-simmering showdown with Harlem Eubank fell through, top super lightweight prospect Adam Azim will face Ohara Davies at the top of the Sky Sports/Peacock main event on October 19 at the Copper Box Arena.

Azim (11-0, 8 KO) knocked out Franck Petitjean in his European title fight last November, then forced a stoppage in Enock Poulsen’s defense due to injury. These victories set up a mandatory defense against Dalton Smith, but Azim elected to face Eubank instead, only for the feud to begin and end with an April bout.

In “Two Tanks” steps, Davies (25-3, 18 KO) fights for the first time since being knocked down at 1:53 by Elderly Man Barroso in January. The defeat snapped a seven-game winning streak that began in 2018, when he lost a unanimous decision at the hands of Jack Catterall. This is definitely the loudest opponent in Azim’s career, although the 22-year-old is his clear favorite.

“I can’t wait to get back in the ring and get back to what I do best,” Azim said. “It was a great honor for me to win and defend the European title, but now I am ready for the next challenge. I have known Ohara Davies for many years. I respect him and what he has achieved in sport, but when we meet in the ring, he is just another opponent and another step on my way to the top. He is a good fighter. I think our style will make for an electrifying fight, but there will only be one result. I’m ready to make a statement and show everyone that I’m ready for the biggest names in the division.

“I’m excited about this fight,” Davies said. “I like Adam Azim. I’ve known him since I was a juvenile boy and it’s amazing to see his boxing success so far. I followed him in amateur competitions and always respected him. But he’s not a child anymore. He grew into a man with enormous potential. And that’s why it’s a pity that I have to give him his first defeat. Without a needle and without hatred, I want us to return to our families ecstatic and fit after the fight. But this is where everything changes for him. I’m sorry, Adam. This is where it ends.”

Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn is looking forward to Conor Benn’s British ban coming to an end in the next month or so as Benn’s lawyers hold talks with the British Anti-Doping Organization and the British Boxing Board of Control. Benn had his license suspended due to a failed drug test, and although he continues to deny knowingly taking any banned substance, he still had to face the repercussions.

Benn has not yet made a firm decision in the UK, but has since fought abroad twice in an attempt to prevent his career from being completely frozen due to his entanglements with the British authorities. According to Hearn, this is a large deal because Benn is apparently quite popular in the UK.

“Conor Benn coming back will be huge because if we talk about the profile, apart from AJ [Joshua] and Fury, Conor Benn’s profile is bigger than everyone else.

“We will know more in early October how this will play out. We had many questions about why he wouldn’t simply accept a two-year ban – the test took place in June 2022. However, to Conor’s detriment, he never wanted to admit to the ban because he believes in his innocence. He never wanted to make the deal and it cost him time.

Hearn continues to beat the drum regarding the proposed fight between Benn and Chris Eubank Jr., with both fathers fighting each other on large shows in the early 1990s. In that respect, Hearn intends to deliver the next generation of this fight, even despite the size difference between them.

Benn last fought in the ring in February in Las Vegas, defeating little-known Peter Dobson in a 12-round decision.

Naoya Inoue defended his undisputed super bantamweight title with a seventh-round TKO victory over TJ Doheny in a fight that had an unexpected ending and some compelling boxing ahead.

Inoue (28-0, 25 KO) was indeed stopped and was increasingly in control of the fight, but the stoppage came due to a lower back or leg injury to Doheny (26-5, 20 KO), whose shrewd, veteran-style boxing provided Inoue has decent looks, if not what you might call “fitting.”

Inoue seemed to be gaining a lot of momentum with his body work in the last few rounds before being stopped 16 seconds into the seventh round, and the outcome was looking less and less in doubt, but you don’t like to see any fighter get stopped for such a tiny thing that could happen there just happen.

To the 37-year-old Doheny’s credit, the Irish-Australian midfielder came in with a legitimate plan and had some success against the 31-year-old Inoue, even if it never looked like he would win the fight in the long run.

We’ll now wait to see what’s next for Inoue, who could potentially fight on Recent Year’s Eve, which is always a massive fight date in Japan, and which Inoue hasn’t actually fought, although he has had several December fights in his career, including the last three years.

With the main support, Yoshiki Takei (10-0, 8 KO) defended his WBO bantamweight title, leaving the ring – at least officially – to survive a great challenge from Daigo Higa (21-3-1, 19 KO) for 12 rounds.

Takei won a fantastic, action-packed fight with scores of 114-113, 114-113 and 115-112, which is a completely fair score, but it was one hell of a test for the 28-year-old titleholder as Higa looked so much like the guy he had be ahead of a tough series of five fights, in which he achieved a record of 2-2-1 in the 2018/21 season.