Boxing
Azim–Valenzuela Reported for December 4 at London’s Copper Box
The Ring reports a 12-round IBF junior welterweight eliminator between Adam Azim and Gabriel Gollaz Valenzuela, with a title opportunity in view.
Adam Azim and Gabriel Gollaz Valenzuela are reportedly set to meet on December 4 at London’s Copper Box Arena in an IBF junior welterweight eliminator.
The Ring reported the proposed 12-round main event for a Boxxer-promoted show, with BoxingScene subsequently carrying the matchup. The reports place a potential world-title opportunity behind the contest, rather than describing it as a championship fight itself.
Azim is ranked fourth by the IBF at 140 pounds, with Valenzuela sixth. The Ring said the winner would hope to challenge for the vacant championship during the first half of 2027.
The division’s immediate title plans remain unsettled. Lindolfo Delgado and Arthur Biyarslanov had been due to contest the belt on the Canelo Álvarez–Christian Mbilli undercard in Riyadh, but that fight was called off.
It remains unclear whether that title matchup will be rescheduled. The reported London eliminator would put its winner into the conversation without settling every part of the sanctioning body’s future championship schedule.
Azim, 24, is unbeaten at 15–0 with 12 knockouts. His most recent appearance was a third-round stoppage of former world-title challenger Steve Claggett at Wembley Arena on May 30.
The former European champion has stopped his last six opponents. That sequence also includes victories over Sergey Lipinets and Ohara Davies, though his schedule has left gaps between appearances.
Valenzuela, 32, carries a 32–5–1 record with 18 knockouts. He lost eliminators against Subriel Matias and Delgado in 2025, then returned to winning form with a seventh-round stoppage of Rogelio Jimenez Laguna in May.
Azim has also been linked with British WBC champion Dalton Smith. Those longer-term possibilities remain separate from the reported Valenzuela assignment. For now, December 4 at the Copper Box is the matchup described by the reporting, with its significance rooted in the IBF route toward a future title challenge.
