Joshua Buatsi vs Dan Azeez Preview & Picks
Joshua Buatsi is tipped to win this eliminator fight via decision.
Buatsi is a smart fighter who can control distance with an effective jab, setting up power punches.
That will allow him to deal with Dan Azeez’s bullying tactics and earn the nod from the judges.
- Joshua Buatsi has a perfect 17-0 record
- Joshua Buatsi’s last 2 victories have been by unanimous decision
- Joshua Buatsi has not win by knockout since August 2021
Joshua Buatsi Form
Joshua Buatsi boasts a perfect 17-0 professional record, with 13 of those wins coming via stoppage.
Buatsi has held minor light-heavyweight titles so far in his career, with his first coming in July 2018 when he stopped Andrejs Pokumeiko in the first round to win the WBA international title.
He successfully defended that belt twice, stopping both Tony Averlant and Renold Quinland in the first round.
The 30-year-old then claimed the British light-heavyweight title by knocking out Liam Conroy in the third round in March 2019.
Buatsi did not make a defence of that belt, but did return to defending his WBA international title after that victory.
He won all four of his title defences, stopping Marco Antonio Periban in the fourth round, before knocking out Ryan Ford and then Marko Calic in the seventh round.
In his final defence, in May 2021, he needed only four rounds to take out Daniel Dos Santos.
Since then he has knocked out Ricards Bolotniks in the 11th round, and recorded unanimous decision wins over Craig Richards and Pawel Stepian.
Dan Azeez Form
Dan Azeez possesses a perfect professional record of 20-0, with 13 of those wins coming by way of knockout.
The 34-year-old Londoner is a former English, Commonwealth and European light-heavyweight champion.
Azeez won the English belt in December 2019, when he beat Lawrence Osueke on points, and he went on to make a couple of successful defences.
He then won the vacant British belt in November 2021 when he knocked out Hosea Burton in the seventh round.
Azeez then went on to knock out Reece Cartwright in the eighth round of a non-title fight, before making his first defence of the British crown.
The Londoner beat Shakan Pitters on points, earning him a showdown with Rocky Fielding for the vacant Commonwealth title in December 2022.
He continued his climb up the light-heavyweight ladder, stopping Fielding inside eight rounds, and four months later he claimed the European belt by stopping Thomas Faure in the final round.
Azeez then took his professional record to 20-0 last July when he beat Khalid Graidia on points in an eight-round contest.