Regis Prograis and Richard Commey are in contention to be Adam Azim’s next opponent.

Azim justified the aggressive matchmaking with which he is being guided when in February he so impressively stopped Sergey Lipinets of Kazakhstan in nine rounds, and he hopes to be rewarded by fighting a former world champion in June.

The 36-year-old Prograis sacrificed the WBC junior-welterweight title to Devin Haney in December 2023, and since then has fought only once, when losing to Azim’s fellow Briton Jack Catterall.

Commey, 38, was the IBF lightweight champion until losing to Teofimo Lopez – since established as the world’s leading junior welterweight – in December 2019.

It was on Sunday when the 23-year-old Azim’s ongoing progress was recognised by the British Boxing Board of Control via his winning their young fighter of the year award, and the plan of his promoters Boxxer and trainer and manager Shane McGuigan appears to be to deliver for him a fight that will continue to enhance his reputation beyond the UK.

“I’ll be fighting in June time,” Azim told BoxingScene. “I’ve got a couple of names out there – four or five names – me and my team are going to sit down and discuss which one.

“There’s a couple there – Regis Prograis; Richard Commey. There’s a lot of other names out there. But I’ve got to sit down with my team and discuss what’s the best option.

“Regis Prograis is a good name. If I’m fighting him it’s a big-profile fight. I’m looking for a good, former world champion, and a big profile.

“It was an amazing performance [against Lipinets]. I showed a lot of attributes in that fight. I went from back foot, front foot; working on the inside as well. It was really good.

“[The response to that performance has] been amazing. Lipinets is a former IBF world champion and ‘Boots’ [Jaron Ennis, previously] was the only guy to stop him. 

“[Shane McGuigan] thought I boxed really well. I stuck with the game plan; boxed very good inside and out, and for the last couple of rounds I stopped him in the inside game, which Sergey Lipinets is really good at – and I smashed him there.

“Whatever opponent they put in front of me, I’ve got to adapt to it. Each fight is an adaptation, so I’m looking forward to learning each fight.”

Azim being named the Board’s young fighter of the year came 48 hours after it was announced that his long-term domestic rival Dalton Smith will on April 19 fight Canada’s Mathieu Germain.

In Smith’s previous fight – in January, one week before Azim-Lipinets – he stopped inside a round Walid Ouizza of France, and Azim said: “Looking at his previous opponent, what on earth was that? Even his next opponent – I’ve never heard of him. He needs to step up and actually fight people that really want to give him a test. 

“Instead of fighting decent opponents… they’re not the greatest opponents. I’m fighting someone like Sergey Lipinets, a former IBF champion, and I fought Ohara Davies, who’s a big puncher. You’ve got to step in the ring with some good operators.

“I was a bit shocked [he agreed to fight Germain]. But I was thinking in my head, ‘Look, if that’s the route he wants to take then that’s good, because he ain’t gonna develop, and when he jumps in the ring with me I’ll kill him’.”