BOXING - Azzaoui takes on heavyweight Cameron

For Mohammed Azzaoui the signs are good for his upcoming world boxing title fight, with the bout scheduled on the evening of the final day of Ramadan.
The portentous date means he may be able to celebrate winning the title by participating in the Muslim feast of Eid ul-Fitr, after a month of fasting.
The former Algerian amateur champion, who has lived in Northland since 2002, looked sharp in his final sparring session before leaving for London, in Auckland on Saturday.
He survived four torrid rounds against heavyweight Shane Cameron before maintaining the same intensity in a second four-round session against visiting Pakistani light heavyweight Kashi Mumtaz.
The boxers provided Azzaoui with differing styles, which was the idea of his handlers, with a bout against a relatively unknown boxer, Nicaraguan Henry Sanaez, now less than three weeks away.
"We mixed it up today. Shane's a big heavy fighter and the second guy was a lot lighter, so he had to adapt to a different style but we're trying to add to the arsenal he's got, so he's ready for whatever fighter comes at him," Azzaoui's trainer Rusty Porter said.
The fact that Azzaoui is fasting every day doesn't seem to have affected his build-up for the fight - despite training twice daily.
"He's coming on well considering he's training while fasting and he showed that by going eight rounds after spending four hours in a car driving down here," Porter said.
Azzaoui allowed Cameron to corner him several times during the session, a tactic that saw him take some big punches to the body, in particular.
"We're working on trying get him to slip (out) from the corner - rather than fighting his way out or clutching and waiting for the referee to call a break," Porter explained.
The mismatch between the 105kg Cameron and Azzaoui, who is a shade under 90kg at the moment, provided an entertaining session for the small crowd of enthusiasts gathered at the Boxing Alley Gym.
Azzaoui, who is a master of counter punching, rocked Cameron with clean, crisp punching and his accurate combinations clearly pleased his corner.
Cameron, who has just begun training toward another, as yet unconfirmed, fight, said Azzaoui was well placed to win in Moscow.
"Mohammed's a very conditioned athlete, he trains well and he can go round after round, which is a good thing in boxing - it's the name of the game really," he said.
"He'll do good in Moscow, he's a very safe fighter and I'm quite confident he'll come away with a win, as long as he applies enough pressure," the top Kiwi heavyweight added.
Azzaoui said he was feeling good after the sparring session and hadn't been damaged by any of Cameron's ferocious body shots.
"I'm not sore, there's nothing in there to be sore, my stomach's empty," he laughed.
He said training during Ramadan was nothing new to him and would allow him to lose weight more easily.
"We've been waiting for this fight, it's a big fight for us away from home ... we're going to go there and win the belt and come back," he said.
The reputation of Sanaez as a big-hitting, front-foot fighter - like Cameron - doesn't concern the former Olympian.
"Everyone has big right hands," Azzaoui laughed. "It depends on the training - if you train properly and get fit you can get away from them. If you don't you get hit.
"Just like Shane here today - he has a big right hand but it goes slow and so he can't always catch you. You have to be fit and fast and keep on moving."
Azzaoui is confident he will win the IBO title and he is already looking to the next bout, which he has been pursuing since he turned professional after the Sydney Olympics in 2000.
"We only know Sanaez's ranking really, we know he has 16 fights and he's won 10 by knockout - our plan is to just go there and win and then we wait for Virgil Hill - that's the one we're waiting for," Azzaoui said.