Eddie Hearn is working on tying lightweight contender Maxi Hughes to Andy Cruz or junior middleweight Dalton Smith Possibility of matching.
Smith, 13-0 (13 KO), cemented his position as a mandatory challenger for the WBC 140-pound champion, defeated Walid Ouizza in the first round suspension and won the European title on January 25. Alberto Puello and Sandor Martin fight for the vacant belt in March, with them likely to have a voluntary defense before facing Smith, Hearn is looking for a name called Opponents face Smith in the summer.
The battle asked for is the dusty domestically between Smith and junior secondary rival Adam Azim. Now, Azim has won the IBO title with a 13-0 (10 KOS), defeated by former champion Sergey Lipinets in eight rounds. Azim quickly called out Smith’s name after his victory, but on his next breath he insisted on pickling the battle he needed.
Hearn seems frustrated by the situation and talks with Boxing Season about Smith’s next steps.
“Hope Adam Azim, but obviously he has to pickle a little bit, so I don’t know,” Hearn joked. “I mean, they don’t seem to want this fight, which is obviously very disappointing, but, look, Dalton is forcing the world champions and we need a big name.
“You know, if it weren’t for Adam Azim, we’d be willing to take the risk of going to force a position to continue to develop that star, the brand and the brand. So, yes, we’re going to see the next step, and I hope to see him early summer.”
Last week, Hearn revealed that the plan was the headlines of Smith’s summer show in his hometown of Sheffield, England. Rumors are said to be against the ever-evolving star rival Maxi Hughes, a lightweight contender. Hughes, 28-7-2 (6 KOS), faces 135 pound big names including George Cambosos JNR and William Zepeda – despite Kambosos being controversial . Hughes defeated Gary Cully and lived only a few miles on the road to Doncaster, England. The local derby between the two will surely sell the Sheffield Arena and be interested.
“We offer this struggle to Maxi [Hughes] In the past, it was fair to him, he was 135 pounds tall. “Hearn said. “So I liked Maxi Hughes’ two fights. One is Andy Cruz and the other is Dalton Smith – but [Hughes] Must jump to 140 pounds.
“It’s a wonderful all-Yorkshire battle. It’s just whether he’s going to jump up. I mean, he’s always in the lightweight class… He used to pack for 140 pounds and he’s 135 in height pound. So, yes, let’s see if it’s possible. ”
Hughes said he is willing to face lightweight contenders and Olympic gold medalist Cruz.
“This is not really provided [to Hughes],” Hearn said. “I mean, I saw him saying he was going to fight and when I looked at the governing body, we needed to position Andy Cruz as a mandatory nature of the world champion. Maxi is ranked well in the WBA, and he is actually a mandatory IBF. So, yes [Hughes] In a good position, he needs a big fight. ”
