ADAM AZIM wants to be the scarred face of boxing’s battle against ADHD.
Slough’s 20-year-old lightweight ace has a mush covered in battle wounds but none from his glittering amateur career or 7-0 pro start.
Adam Azim is hoping to shine a light on boxing’s battle with ADHDRichard Pelham / The Sun
Adam Azim is the next big thing in British boxing despite his childhood fight with ADHDJamie McPhilimey
ReutersAdam Azim hopes to emulate his hero Amir Khan, pictured, and become champion[/caption]
Every dent, scrape and blemish is the result of his Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder causing him to crash into or fall off of something in his accident-prone childhood.
But – in a story that’s similar to that of 35-year-old idol Amir Khan – boxing was the perfect sport for Azim to channel his relentless energy into and beat his bad boy tag.
At Shane McGuigan’s Leyton gym, where he trains alongside welterweight brother Hassan, Azim told SunSport: “Everybody thinks the scars are from boxing but not one of them are, I was just always crashing into things and hurting myself.
“It took a long time to be diagnosed properly, I was just thought of as a naughty boy but my dad helped me use my energy in sports like kickboxing and then boxing and thankfully I have never needed any medication.
“They tried me at cricket first and I liked the batting and bowling but standing out in the field for ages was impossible for me.
“I know Amir has a similar story, his parents sent him to the gym as he was so energetic, and it must have been harder for him to handle as there was a lot less understanding of hyperactivity.
“Even ten years ago with me people didn’t understand what was happening but hopefully I can show any other children suffering that ADHD can be a gift that you can turn to your advantage.”
Much like Bolton icon Khan, who won silver at the 2004 Athens Olympics aged just 17, Azim has frighteningly fast hands.
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They also share Pakistani heritage and Khan’s path from Asian outcast to world champion and British national treasure is one Azim aspires to.
After capping his breakout year with a headline slot on Sky Sports beating Rylan Charlton at Ally Pally, he said: “Amir is the only British-Pakistani world champion in history and I want to be the next one.
“Amir has very kindly said in some interviews that he thinks I can do it so that is a huge motivation for me as well.
“I was in Birmingham 15 years ago to watch Amir win against Michael Gomez, my dad took me and there is a photo of us ringside.
“So it feels like a completed journey, it feels like this was meant to be and I cannot wait to grab the opportunity and make it the start of a great career.”
McGuigan’s gym is a hotbed of young British talent with siblings Daniel and Caroline Dubois also in the ranks.
And Azim revealed to SunSport that he and 20-year-old lightweight Caroline played crucial parts in improving each other over a decade ago.
He explained: “Me, Caroline and Daniel all started at the same great amateur gym, Dale Youth, when we were kids.
“Aged around eight and nine, me and Caroline actually used to spar each other.
“I have seen that when she first started boxing at another gym, she had to pretend to be a boy called Colin, but the Dale was happy to have female fighters and she was Caroline there.
“I remember the very first day she came down and I trained alongside her, I told my dad that was going to be very special.
“All these years later I am back training alongside her and Daniel and my brother every day.
“It’s a really exciting time for all of us and for British boxing hopefully”.