Steve Claggett will be fighting in a new country on May 30, but little else will feel unfamiliar for him. Not the hostility. Not the stage. And certainly not the role.
Claggett, the veteran junior welterweight from Calgary, Alberta, Canada will once again find himself cast as the B-side when he faces rising British contender Adam Azim at Wembley Arena in London, England. It’s a position he has occupied for much of his career—and one he has learned to embrace.
“I spent a lifetime fighting on the B-side,” said Claggett, 40-8-2 (28 KOs). “I don't mind it. It's just part of the game. But at the end of the day, they can't fight for you. The only one who fights is the guy in the ring.”
At 35, Claggett is a seasoned road warrior who has fought across the globe, competing in Ireland as an amateur, plus Mexico and the Philippines as a pro. The location, he insists, is irrelevant once the bell rings.
“My punches are just as hard in England as they are in Calgary or as they are here in Las Vegas,” said Claggett, who is currently training at the Mayweather Gym. “The name of the game is get better and be better. It doesn’t matter where the fight is - you show up how you show up.”
Claggett, an 18-year pro, is coming off a second-round stoppage of Alejandro Frias Rodriguez in March. Prior to that, Claggett sat out all of 2025 with a left shoulder injury. Instead of allowing the injury to stall his momentum, he worked on improving his right hand.
“I spent the whole time working on my right hand, building something that I feel like it's better than ever now. So when one piece breaks, you work on the other one,” said Claggett. “I kept progressing. I kept working, I kept training, I kept sparring. I did everything. I feel like it's coming together now, so maybe it was perfect.”
Azim, 14-0 (11 KOs), of Slough, England, has established himself as one of the top young fighters in England following an impressive 2025 where he scored knockouts over fellow prospect Kurt Scoby and former IBF junior welterweight titleholder Sergey Lipinets.
“He's fast, he's sharp, he's pretty tall,” said Claggett of the 5’10” Azim. “But a man's a man. In the ring is where you really figure it all out. But I always found that you can't put the guy that you're fighting up on this big pedestal, because it'll create this mountain to climb. And the only thing that matters is how you show up, and as long as you show up at your very best, that's what you can do.”
Claggett has had one previous opportunity for a world title, going the distance against Teofimo Lopez in 2024 for the WBO junior welterweight title. He lost a unanimous decision that night, but gained the experience of having fought at the highest level of the sport. He insists that he isn’t coming in as a veteran looking for a payday. He says he’s still a hungry fighter, and knows that just one night can bring him right back to the top.
“I've seen the top of the boxing world, and I know that I can do it, and I've spent my whole life dedicated to this sport, and now I have this opportunity, and it's something that I'm not going to let pass me by. It’s something that I've worked on since I was a child, and I just want it more than ever. I know what I'm looking for. Every day of my life I've dedicated to this sport, and it's a great opportunity,” said Claggett.
Claggett knows that, when he walks to the ring in London later this month, only the people by his side will be cheering him. It doesn’t bother him because he knows it doesn’t matter what corner you’re in or who is featured more prominent on the fight posters once the bell rings.
“I found that sometimes when guys get built up and they've been blessed with a promoter from the very beginning, it's like they know what it's like on the A-side, but they don't know what it's like on the B-side. And sometimes guys can overlook their opposition, or think that everything's gonna to go their way, but it's always different,” said Claggett.
“The rest of the stuff is all details, all the noise, all the favorites, A-side, B-side doesn't matter, because when the bell rings, that's what counts. And I feel like I'm going to show my absolute best this fight, and the details won't matter when we get in there.”
Ryan Songalia is a reporter and editor for BoxingScene.com and has written for ESPN, the New York Daily News, Rappler, The Guardian, Vice and The Ring magazine. He holds a Master’s degree in Journalism from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism and is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at ryansongalia@gmail.com or on Twitter at @ryansongalia.
