ADAM Azim looks to make his splash on the world scene against former IBF junior welterweight Sergey Lipinets in their headliner for IBO championship gold this weekend.

His fifth Sky Sports main event in the UK and set to be televised on Peacock across American territories, the 22-year-old's relatively quick turnaround is a welcome one before the holy month of Ramadan begins on February 27.

The rising Slough star (12-0, 9 KOs) is said to have matured both as a boxer and outside the ring over the past 18 months, coinciding with his short-lived pursuit and reign as EBU European champion at 140-pounds.

Contrasting stoppage victories over Frank Petitjean and Enock Poulsen have given The Assassin increased belief that he belongs at world level, evidenced by a career-best showing against friendly face Ohara Davies in mid-October.

Longtime contender and former interim world title challenger Davies promptly retired after a third career defeat, Azim insisting Lipinets will likely do the same once they share the ring together at Wembley Arena.

Someone who knows the rising contender more intimately than most is his head trainer, Shane McGuigan. The 36-year-old spoke about the subtle developments seen from their work in the gym during a conversation with The Ring.

"His maturity, there's a calmness now when he's boxing on the inside. He's always been very effective on the outside but now, he's able to stand in close and work on the inside without loading up.

Before, he was trying to take people's heads off and it [his entries] were a little bit telegraphed. He's very good at layering his shots and putting them together, so uses all of his attributes in his favour rather than against him now."

Azim has continued to take inspiration from those around him operating at the very highest level, whether it be recently upgraded WBC lightweight world champion Caroline Dubois (10-0-1, 5 KOs) or watching now-former WBO cruiserweight titleholder Chris Billam-Smith dare to be great on Saudi shores against Gilberto 'Zurdo' Ramirez.

Billam-Smith (20-2, 13 KOs) was naturally disappointed to fall short during a long-awaited divisional WBO/WBA unification matchup on November 16, though McGuigan was heartened by the subsequent response by his charge.

When assessing the defeat, McGuigan said: "What I like most about Chris is when he came back, he said he needs to get better and wants to keep improving. A lot of the time when boxers lose at that level and have made some money, they're looking at cash out fights. CBS is looking at how he can roll the dice again but become more efficient and even better, a couple of discussions being had about how we can approach things in the next phase of his career.

From us managing him, you don't go back to domestic level when you've boxed for a unified world title. He defended it twice, was on a massive stage, hopefully we can get a competitive fight, getting his teeth stuck into it on a big stage."

Less than a fortnight since that conversation, the final line has proven prophetic.

It has since been confirmed Billam-Smith will return on April 26 as part of the Chris Eubank Jnr vs. Conor Benn card against Atlanta native Brandon Glanton (20-2, 17 KOs), who has boxed outside the US in three of his last four contests and is managed by Eubank Jnr's handler Elliott Amoakoh of Nova Sport.

Glanton is currently ranked #3 by the WBA, #5 with the WBC, #7 with the WBO and was very close to getting a surprise world title shot.

At this month's Azim-Lipinets media day, the Dubai-based was next up in the IBF rotation to box Ring/IBF titlist Jai Opetaia (27-0, 21 KOs), had David Nyika not surprisingly accepted the call replacing an injured Huseyin Cinkara.

Three-and-a-half months later, the 32-year-old will box a former world champion on British soil instead, having gone on record detailing a desire to make a name for himself across the pond. What better opportunity than on a London-based stadium show, to potentially produce a career-best win in the process?

English cruiserweight champion Viddal Riley (12-0, 7 KOs), originally set to defend his title against former Billam-Smith opponent Isaac Chamberlain in this weekend's co-feature, will now face Cheavon Clarke (10-1, 7 KOs) elsewhere on the Eubank-Benn bill after Chamberlain's undisclosed training injury.

Matchroom were expected to negotiate terms for an immediate rematch between Clarke and France's Leonardo Mosquea (16-0, 9 KOs) after C4 dropped a 12-round split decision in their compelling December duel from Monte-Carlo, though he's now pursuing another avenue instead.

Both he and Riley hold amateur wins over Billam-Smith, while two-time world light-heavyweight title challenger Anthony Yarde was floated as an attractive option for the Bournemouth man before rejecting that possibility last month.