Argentine junior welterweight Gustavo Lemos had been preparing to face rising force Adam Azim on Saturday.

However, news broke earlier this week their fight had been postponed when firstly Lemos pulled out. After efforts were made to secure a new opponent for Azim, he also injured himself in the final sparring session of training camp.

"Sadly, we suffered a hand injury just a few days before the fight," Lemos told The Ring.

"The decision was for the best, so that I can be at 100 percent for this bout."

The hope is their fight can be rescheduled within the next few months, solidifying who is the IBF's new No. 2 contender. Azim is rated No. 5 by the sanctioning body, while Lemos is four places below him.

"I assure you that the postponement will be better than you think," he said. "We're moving forward steadily with my hand recovery and training."

Lemos turned professional in 2016, after which he won his first 29 fights — all in his native Argentina — including a fifth-round stoppage of former featherweight beltholder Lee Selby in March 2022 during an IBF lightweight title eliminator.

However, weight issues led to him moving up to 140 pounds where he gave now-champion Richardson Hitchins fits en route to dropping a disputed 12-round unanimous decision in a April 2024 eliminator.

He came in overweight and folded rather meekly seven months later against Keyshawn Davis in two rounds, but has since returned to the win column.

Azim, meanwhile, was a decorated amateur before turning professional at 18 in 2020.

The Ring's No. 8-rated junior welterweight, he won the European title with a 10th-round stoppage of Franck Petitjean in November 2023 before retaining the title with a fifth-round finish against an injured Enock Poulsen three months later.

The 23-year-old vacated the title and stepped into international competition last year, stopping former world champion Sergey Lipinets in nine one-sided rounds before a final-round finish of Kurt Scoby as part of the Eubank-Benn II undercard on November 15.