Dan Azeez vs Joshua Buatsi signed and sealed
The Battle for South London is on!
Speaking to Sky Sports, European light-heavyweight champion Dan Azeez confirmed, "I've signed to fight Joshua Buatsi. We're both undefeated, it's an all-South London dust-up and we want to see who's really and truly No.1."
Lewisham's "Super" Dan Azeez (19-0, 13KO) has gone about his business the old fashioned way by collecting the set, which includes Southern Area, English, British, Commonwealth and European titles, all at light-heavyweight.
He added, "We've done plenty of rounds together [sparring] and I'm sure there are times the switch has been turned on, so I'm sure it won't be much of a difference in a real fight."
The 33-year-old Londoner, trained by Buddy McGirt, was last seen in March, destroying EBU titlist Thomas Faure in his own backyard in Paris, stopping the French champion in the final round of 12.
He is due to fight this weekend in Italy, which is a fight that has gone under the radar as it's being treated as a practice match as part of fight preparations for "JB".
"I'm fighting in Italy this Saturday in Milan, god willing everything goes well."
Ghanaian-born Croydon boxer, Joshua Buatsi (17-0, 13KO), 30-years-old, has won British and WBA International light-heavyweight titles during his six-year pro career so far. Trained by Mark Gillespie, "Just Business" is ranked highly with all five boxing governing bodies.
As an amateur, Azeez had only 60 bouts, starting boxing late whilst at university. He was crowned ABA South of England champion three times and won the Haringey Box Cup in 2013.
Also a uni graduate, Buatsi was a standout amateur, spending years on the Team GB squad, winning multiple national championships, culminating in an Olympic bronze medal at Rio 2016.
Both boxers are unbeaten in their professional careers, with a 36-0 combined record with 26 KOs.
BOXXER promoter, Ben Shalom, added, "This is one of the biggest fights in British boxing. Fair play to both men for taking it. It's a fight that we're hugely excited about and one I know the fans are going to get behind.
"Two of the most exciting talents in a red-hot light-heavyweight division. They've trained together, they'v sparred together, they know each other well and that's what's going to make this such a fascinating contest.
"We look forward to announcing further details, including the date and venue very soon."
World Rankings
Azeez: WBC 3 / WBA 2 / IBF 5 / WBO 3 / IBO 4
Buatsi: WBC 2 / WBA 1 / IBF 3 / WBO 1 / IBO 2
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