Two British light heavyweights meet on Saturday afternoon with gold on the line and a chance to be the next contender for a world title also a possibility for the winner.
With Artur Beterbiev and Dimitry Bivol leading the light heavyweight division you’d be forgiven for thinking that Russian-born boxers dominate at 179 lbs but behind them is a run of boxers from the UK waiting for the chance to call themselves a world champion, but before that it’s British gold on the line.
We’ve got all the information and news you’ll need ahead of our Buatsi vs Azeez prediction for this weekend, as the two friends meet in the middle of the ring.
Buatsi vs Azeez Prediction
After Callum Smith failed to be the first man to stop Beterbiev earlier this month and Lyndon Arthur had the same result in his fight with Beterbiev at the end of last year, it’s time for two more Englishmen to battle for the chance to win a world title down the line.
Buatsi and Azeez were meant to have settled this at the end of last year but British champion Azeez had to pull out due to an injury.
Will it rear it’s ugly head again and put his defence in jeopardy? How will they decide our Joshua Buatsi vs Dan Azeez prediction?
Joshua Buatsi Preview
Ghanaian born Buatsi rose to fame in Britain during the 2016 Olympics, where he represented the country he’s lived in since very early in his life. After winning bronze at the European games in 2015, he once again got to the semi-finals in Brazil the following year. He lost to Adilbek Niyazymbetov, earning himself another bronze medal.
The 30-year-old turned professional after the Games and made his debut in the paid ranks nearly a year later. He defeated Carlos Mena in a second round stoppage in his first fight, after signing with Matchroom Boxing.
The tall orthodox fighter is known to box behind his jab although he’s also shown his power in winning 13 of his 17 fights to date by stoppage. The other four fights have come down to the judges’ scorecards and he is yet to be beaten.
Buatsi moved from Matchroom to join Boxxer in March last year and has only had one fight with his new promoter since, beating Pawel Stepien by unanimous decision last May.
He has previously won the British light-heavyweight title but the belt was vacant on that occasion and this time he is the challenger. That could be a factor in our Joshua Buatsi vs Daz Azeez prediction, especially as it’s his biggest fight so far.
Dan Azeez Preview
Whilst Buatsi’s amateur career made him a household name during the Rio Olympics, Azeez isn’t quite as big a name, despite having a good amateur pedigree. The Londoner was crowned ABA South of England champion three times and won the esteemed Box Cup in 2013.
Azeez became a professional in December 2017 but his lesser reputation means he was on smaller cards at the beginning of his career.
‘Super’ has started his career with 20 wins out of his first 20 bouts, with 13 of them coming by way of knockout and the other seven coming via decision.
The orthodox fighter gives up four inches of height to his opponent on the weekend and will likely have to get on the inside of the jab to inflict damage on his taller and rangier rival. They are only rivals in the ring this weekend, as they’re actually real life friends and have sparred many rounds together.
That familiarity may favor one man over the other and play into our Buatsi vs Azeez prediction for this Saturday.
The current British champ won the belt in November 2021 and has defended it twice, also adding European gold. He’s the first British light heavyweight to hold the British, European and Commonwealth titles.
Joshua Buatsi vs Dan Azeez Prediction: Can Azeez Cause On Upset?
This is a tighter one than the odds suggest, with Buatsi being made the heavy favorite before they step foot inside the squared circle.
Our Buatsi vs Azeez prediction is that -425 seems to be extremely high on the Moneyline for the challenger to dethrone the current British champion, even if we do think he might win.
Azeez comes into this one as the +300 underdog on the Moneyline but he’s definitely a live prospect in this one.
Despite that, our official prediction for this one is Buatsi winning by decision at -130, as that seems his most likely route to victory. He can be backed at +250 for a stoppage win but you’re better off going for Buatsi to win by unanimous decision at +125.
Azeez to be knocked down at +180 is also worth a bet if Buatsi manages to catch his opponent but doesn’t have the power to finish him.
If you think the champ can hold on to his belts and undefeated record then Azeez to win by TKO/KO at +750 is definitely the way to go.
Ryan Sidle is a sports journalist with nearly a decade in the industry. He's been interested in boxing since Mike Tyson vs Frank Bruno and his MMA fandom was sparked by Michael Bisping and Anderson Silva.
