105 days after the original date, the light-heavyweight division duel between domestic rivals Dan Azeez and Joshua Buatsi will finally take place on Saturday night. One man’s unbeaten record has to go and with it, so does their world championship ambitions. Azeez has gone the scenic route to this point but been increasingly bullish about what’s at stake for him too aged 34, underdog or not.
Is beating a former sparring partner too big an ask for Azeez?
Dan Azeez (c) vs. Joshua Buatsi headlines BOXXER London card
British, Commonwealth titles at 175lbs on the line in world title eliminator
Live at Wembley Arena on Saturday, February 3
Estimated main event ringwalks from 10.30pm BST
As he has maintained dating back to the initial press conference way back in August, this eagerly-anticipated matchup means everything to Dan Azeez.
An untimely back injury worsened to the point medical professionals deemed him unfit to compete during the final throes of fight week for their original October 21 primetime slot – prompting a fight date and arena change, from the O2 to Wembley, though all that did was intensify tension between the pair. That sells interest in itself.
Azeez at 34 was already offered an opportunity to fight for Dmitry Bivol’s WBA world title last summer per Matchroom chief Eddie Hearn, but perhaps wisely sidestepped that spot – one eventually taken by Lyndon Arthur in December – looking to prevail against a friendly face that has always been favoured over him.
Not shy of self-belief, Azeez has taken heart from the hundreds of rounds’ sparring they’ve logged over several years and also previously been in camp with unified champion Artur Beterbiev, so it’s not as though he doesn’t deserve this headline show. Whether he can make up for the technical gifts Buatsi poses is unclear.
Activity favours him in a sport where form is fleeting and class often sniffed at when assessing opponents’ resumes and the circumstances that led to certain outcomes.
Graidia (10-13-5, 2 KOs), for instance, is a seasoned veteran who went eight rounds with domestic divisional talents Karol Itauma (May) and Ezra Taylor (June) before Azeez’s stay-busy fight abroad in Verbania, Italy. The 41-year-old will feature on this undercard vs. Sky’s highly-rated prospect, Olympic silver medallist Ben Whittaker.
Azeez’s last five fights
Khalid Graidia, UD8 – July 23
Thomas Faure, R12 TKO – March 2023
Rocky Fielding, R8 TKO – Dec. 22
Shakan Pitters, UD12 – Sept. 22
Reece Cartwright, R8 TKO – March 2022
Buatsi’s last five fights
Pawel Stepien, UD10 – May 2023
Craig Richards, UD12 – May 2022
Ricards Bolotniks, R11 TKO – August 21
Daniel Blenda Dos Santos, R4 TKO – May 2021
Marko Calic, R7 TKO – October 2020
Azeez dismantled a past-his-best Rocky Fielding, outworked Shakan Pitters and was dominant against both Reece Cartwright and Hosea Burton before them in a fair share of his own domestic battles over the years. None of them compare to Buatsi though, especially given the psychological advantages his friend holds over him.
Sparring is just that, when it needs to be. As I wrote at the time, Buatsi feels direspected – just like he did before the Craig Richards bout – that critics are deeming this a pick ’em fight, considering his amateur pedigree and knowing all the subtle intricacies he will have gleaned from their shared time together in the gym.
While embracing the underdog role can relieve pressure, constantly going into big bouts as the sacrificial lamb can be exhausting, especially once you’ve reached new heights and critics are still picking holes to compensate for their own misjudgments.
His memorable Paris exertions
Boxing a home hopeful in Thomas Faure for European honours last March, it was surprising to see the Frenchman last as long as he did during their battle of attrition.
Azeez targeted the body early, tried baiting him into close quarters and couldn’t cut the ring off fast enough when applying forward pressure with an opponent who knew how to box on the back foot and countered well enough to keep him wary too.
Dan took charge from round six onwards, and it could’ve easily been stopped had his agemate not found some timely resistance on wobbly legs after being stung clean with a series of chopping hooks as the crowd noise swelled in response.
Faure fared better and landed more attacks during rounds eight through ten, engaging as Azeez had long beckoned. Yet that also saw him absorb more bruising damage at a quicker rate, evidenced by the Brit’s finish to the penultimate stanza – sensing a stoppage was there for the taking and wasted little time in the 12th.
Faure shook after one too many spiteful shots, his head rattled and no longer in control of his body, the referee did right by waving off the contest in a standing knockout, despite his fatigued protests.
Dan thrives when he’s overlooked, gains strength from being glossed over, but can he produce a career-best display to keep the Olympic bronze medallist honest during their exchanges and lure him into a firefight, cracking his chin? Easier said than done.
Richards did well in spurts 21 months ago but couldn’t sustain that relentless forward intensity against a more powerful puncher, who kept their fight at range when needed, and didn’t feel threatened by the punches whizzing back his way.
Buatsi has a four-inch reach he’ll look to utilise, something team Azeez – complete with Buddy McGirt and Joshua’s amateur coach Mark Gillespie will be wary of.
Given he fumed at some of the officiating ringside as training partner Isaac Dogboe lost a wide decision to Nick Ball in November, the one-time British champion can’t afford to look one-paced or defensively vulnerable. Azeez will punish him for it, and send the 30-year-old into the same purgatory Lawrence Okolie finds himself in.
Saturday’s card is as follows
Light-heavyweight: Dan Azeez vs. Joshua Buatsi for British, Commonwealth titles
Light-welterweight: Adam Azim (c) vs. Enock Poulsen for EBU European title
Women’s lightweight, 10×2-minute RDS: Caroline Dubois (c) vs. Miranda Reyes for IBO world title
Light-heavy, 8 rounds: Ben Whittaker vs. Khalid Graidia
Women’s bantamweight, 6×2-minute rounds: Francesca Hennessy vs. Laura Belen Valdebenito
Heavyweight, 6 rounds: Jeamie Tshikeva vs. Kostiantyn Dovbyshchenko
Picture source: Getty Images
Mo and Sports 