LONDON -- Adam Azim's impressive rise up the ranks continued with a Round 3 stoppage of Canadian Steve Claggett at Wembley Arena on Saturday.
The win puts Azim, 23, on the cusp of fighting for a super lightweight title, and his speedy dismantling of Claggett (40-9-2, 28 KOs), who has historically been a durable fighter, was the statement performance the Brit wanted to reaffirm himself as a true threat at 140 pounds.
Azim (15-0, 12 KOs) started fast, deploying several quick left jabs to find his range, and built into the opening round with confidence, firing in two clean uppercuts that left Claggett's nose bloodied inside the first three minutes of the fight.
The pair locked horns with the bout fought at close range and Azim went back to the uppercut several times, getting caught by the spirited Claggett but never hurt or deterred from coming forward.
Azim worked at a relentless pace and was rewarded at the end of Round 2 when he followed an uppercut that stunned Claggett with a big right hand that sent the Canadian to the canvas.
Blood poured from Claggett's nose and Azim sensed his chance for the early finish. The beginning of the end was marked by another big right uppercut from Azim, who walked forward and let his hands go before referee Victor Loughlin stepped in just over a minute into Round 3.
Claggett had been stopped only once, in 2011, and had tasted defeat only once since 2021, when he went the distance with former world champion Teofimo Lopez in 2024.
Following the victory, after he completed his now traditional post-victory backflip, Azim turned to promoter Ben Shalom and asked him to line up a fight for the IBF world title, knowing he is set to become mandatory challenger for the belt.
Earlier, Francesca Hennessy maintained her unbeaten record with a Round 6 stoppage of Italian Aurora De Persio. Hennessy (9-0, 2 KOs) overcame a frustrating start, having been cut on her right cheek after a clash of heads, to rally and finish De Persio in style.
She let her hands go in Round 5 as De Persio (8-2, 3 KOs) took shots to the head and body before Hennessy came out firing in Round 6 to finish the job for just her second professional stoppage.
The Brit is steadily plotting her way to a title shot of her own and is mandatory challenger for undisputed bantamweight champion Cherneka Johnson's WBC title.