Joshua Buatsi - Dan Azeez summary online, round by round, stats and highlights
Watch Buatsi vs Azeez live stream on Peacock
Buatsi hands Azeez first loss, becomes WBA mandatory
Buatsi clinical as he steps over Azeez to become top contender
The fight promised so much, and it delivered. In spades. Two fighters, both from south London, friends, former sparring partners. Both top four boxers, both looking to become the top contender for the world light heavyweight title.
The winner would become the WBA mandatory challenger for the belt currently held by Dmitry Bivol.
In the buildup to the fight, there was a palpable air that these two liked each other, respected each other. And as the fight got underway, that was evident. But even more evident was the fact that these two boxers are as evenly matched as you could hope to get.
The back and forth nature of the bout saw both men have success and every time it looked as if Buatsi might pull out ahead, Azeez would have a great round, keeping himself in the race. Ten rounds clicked by and while Buatsi was ahead - I had him up seven rounds to three - there was still an air of possibility about the fight. Win rounds eleven and twelve, especially with a knockdown in there, and the decision could be a tight one.
As it turned out, the knockdown that came was the other way, when Azeez's boots looked to slip out from under him just as a jab from Buatsi landed. The referee ruled it a knockdown, a decision that enraged Azeez, and gave him an eight count.
Needing to go for broke, Azeez went all out and just before the bell to end the round, the same thing happened again. A great hook from Buatsi and Azeez's boots looked to slip from under him. Again, the referee counted to eight even as Azeez protested.
That 10-7 round effectively spelled the end of the fight for Azeez.
As the tenth round started, the referee took quite a lot of time to wipe the canvas down, indicating that he was aware that it was overly wet and possibly slippery. Neither fighter blamed the canvas for the outcome, with Azeez saying, "I was beaten by the better man tonight."
With this win, Joshua Buatsi becomes the new British and Commonwealth light heavyweight champion as well as the WBA mandatory challenger for the world title currently held by Dmitry Bivol. With the announcement that Bivol will face Beterbiev in June, Buatsi has a strong shout as the mandatory for the winner of that fight. There could be great things around the corner for Buatsi on the back of this win.
GOODBYE!!!
That is going to do it for our live coverage of Joshua Buatsi vs Dan Azeez. We hope that you enjoyed it as much as we did
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AND THE NEW: Joshua Buatsi wins by UD
The judges saw it as:
116-110
117-109
117-109
all for the winner Joshua Buatsi, who now becomes the British and Commonwealth light heavyweight champion and will become the WBA mandatory challenger for the world title held by Dmitry Bivol.
With that two knockdown eleventh round, I have that fight as 117-109, a wide score that doesn't really reflect the fight itself. It really was close for ten rounds. But Joshua Buatsi looked calm and kept his head, kept his game plan, kept his own counsel throughout. A well deserved win for Josh Buatsi.
Let's see what the judges at ringside say about it.
The final round and Azeez needs a KO to win here now. It was a very close fight before, probably edged toward Buatsi, but with those two knockdowns, there is no way back other than a KO for Azeez.
The two men hug each other to start the round. And rightly so. They are friends, this is a great fight, and they both respect the other mightily.
Buatsi comes out landing a great combo. Azeez is looking unsteady and is pouring water, sweating profusely. He is unsteady on his feet and Buatsi goes for the KO himself, landing big shots with both hands! Azeez is just about able to withstand it but the bell can't come soon enough for him!
That is it!
Azeez lands a stiff jab to start things off. Buatsi is still working the body, most of the shots landing on the arms rather than hitting cleanly.
Buatsi lands a big left hook but Azeez is still coming forward. They trade shots, one landing a jab, the other an uppercut. Buatsi lands a shot as Azeez goes down! It looked like a slip rather than a knockdown, but the referee gives him the count. Azeez is not happy about it.
He gets going again and just as the bell sounds, he goes down again. Again he is given the count making TWO knockdowns in that round. He is in real trouble.
Azeez lands a sharp right hand as Buatsi came in for a shot. Buatsi lands a nice combination and they trade body shots. They both land big shots, a right from Azeez and a left from Buatsi right on the bell.
Azeez lands a pair of stiff jabs to get the round started. Buatsi comes in for a jab and Azeez catches him with a nice right hand. Azeez is working faster, picking up the pace, trying to make Buatsi less comfortable and is having some success with it.
Buatsi taps away with both hands but the hurtful shots are from Azeez.
Buatsi lands a nice left hook that put Azeez back onto his heels a bit.
Buatsi lands a jab that snaps Azeez's head back to start us off. Azeez tries to come back with a shot to the body but single shots won't do it, he needs combinations. And that is what Buatsi is doing well, throwing two, three, and four shot combos, landing cleanly.
Buatsi lands a nice left hook and then gets caught with one himself. He whiffs a big haymaker and the round ends with both men laughing.
Buatsi is sticking with the body, landing with both hands just below the elbows of the low guard of Azeez. Buaatsi lands a nice uppercut.
Azeez is looking perhaps tired, not dipping and moving as well as he did a few rounds ago and Buatsi is very comfortable here.
As the round ends, Buatsi lands a nice right hand around the guard of Azeez.
Azeez has switched to targeting the head of Buatsi, much to the displeasure of his corner. They are screaming at him to work the body.
Buatsi has stuck with working the body and is having more success than his opponent. Buatsi lands three left hooks.
Azeez lands a clean straight right hand.
Buatsi tries to work the body and Azeez stops him with a left hook to the head. Buatsi lands a huge left hook to the head and Azeez is in trouble.
Rallying to stop the attack, Azeez checks Buatsi with a great left hook to the chin of his own. This is a great display by both men!
Buatsi lands a great booming combo to end the round.
Azeez lands a sweet left hook as the round starts and Buatsi looks a little disheveled here. Buatsi comes back with a one two to the body and eats a booming right hand from Azeez.
They stand close and trade uppercuts and as Buatsi lands a nice left Azeez backs out and comes back in with a stiff jab to slow the attach down.
Buatsi ends the round on a high with a clean one two.
Buatsi lands a nice left hand to the body and Azeez tries to respond but gets caught with a double jab for his trouble. Buatsi steps on the gas a little and misses with Azeez doing very good defensive work here. Azeez lands a nice right hand over the top and they both trade to the body. As the round ends, they are standiing toe to toe and letting their hands fly.
As the two come in close and trade shots on the inside, Buatsi lands a nice left hook to the ribs which draws a smile from Azeez, letting you know that he felt it.
Azeez is still working small, compact, and bringing that jab up from underneath. He is having some success with it but in order to close the distance, he is having to take a lot of punishment on the way in.
Both of these undefeated fighters come out working orthodox and working pretty fast. Buatsi more comfortable at distance with Azeez lower, more compact, trying to close the distance.
These two have sparred many rounds with each other and will be well aware of the other man's abilities and his weaknesses.
Buatsi lands a right hand as Azeez comes forward and Azeez lands a right and over the top of Buatsi's jab.
Joshua Buatsi vs Dan Azeez
Now we are ready for our main event as Joshua Buatsi and Dan Azeez square off in a light heavyweight eliminator bout for the right to face Dmitry Bivol for his WBA title.
The announcement that Bivol will face Beterbiev on June 1 will be a shockwave reverberating through this bout, giving new life to the outcome with the winner setting themselves up for a run at the unified world title.
Adam Azim wins by KO
Poulsen comes in with a one two, closing the gap and then taking a low shot from Azim which draws another warning from the ref.
Poulsen is trying to come forward, closing that distance, forcing the fight inside rather than allowing Azim to continue to pick him off from distance.
Azim is hit in a bizarre shot and goes down with what looks like a dislocated shoulder! The referee comes over to count and Poulsen tells him that he can't continue. It is waved off! What a shame! This was a great fight and Poulsen's shoulder has been known to be dislocated before and in fact he has had surgery on it before.
It was an elbow by Azim that did it. Nothing dirty, mind you, just an elbow while the two were working in close. Bad luck.
The two come out trading as before and Azim catches Poulsen with a low blow for which he gets a warning. Azim is comfortable and quick, but Poulsen manages to get in close and land a nice uppercut.
Poulsen bear rushes Azim and it looks as if he feels that his best chance is to close the distance.
Azim has the quicker hands and is starting to pull away in the tit for tat contest that has been going on. Poulsen decides to come back and work as a counter puncher instead and is having some success doing that.
They are still a bit cagey as the second gets underway, still wary of the other man's speed and skill. Azim lands a nice left hand to the body.
Poulsen is trying to get the measure of the distance and comes in with a jab to the body and gets caught with a right hand counter from Azim.
Azim lands a nice back hand over the top.
Both men work from the orthodox side as Azim comes out probing the body. Poulsen responds with a nice left hook.
Azim strides forward with a nice left hook of his own. Both work with a really wide base and both have a similar style. They say that styles make fights so this should be a corker!
Adam Azim vs Enock Poulsen
Now we move on to the chief support for the main event as Adam Azim takes on Enock Poulsen for the European super-lightweight title.
The showmanship by Whittaker is impressive or infuriating, depending how you look at it. He has a supreme amount of talent and is lightning fast with amazing defensive skills. But the lack of respect shown to the opponent rubs some people, me included, the wrong way. It is a dangerous path that he has chosen and one day he will meet a light heavyweight who will make him pay for his hubris.
Ben Whittaker wins by TKO
Whittaker comes out and bangs away. Graidia is frustrated and can't land a glove on him. Whittaker twists him and gets him on the ropes, letting his hands fly and looking to end this fight now. He lands five uncontested body shots and Graidia takes a knee just as the referee steps in to call the fight off. It looked as if Graidia's corner had signalled that they were ready to pull their man out.
Whittaker looks to be unloading here, boxing more straight forward but really loading up on every shot. Graidia has a large lump swelling on his left eye now. Whittaker's left hook has been doing a lot of damage.
Graidia is now in full back foot mode, backing away and returning shots as needed. The referee is telling Whittaker off again for turning around, and he looks to be upset by this. He gets into the corner and evades every shot by Graidia, turning the Frenchman and landing a shot of his own. He gets told off again by the referee and Whittaker is livid that what he sees as his style is being chastised by the ref.
Graidia's corner complained between rounds to the referee, feeling that Whittaker had landed a few shots to the back of the head.
Graidia is coming forward, but Whittaker's defense is outstanding, and he is too fast for the shots coming forward. Whittaker lands an uppercut as Graidia comes forward but unlike before, Graidia manages to land an uppercut of his own as Whittaker tries to spin out to his left. It is not enough to hurt Whittaker, but perhaps enough to make him think that something might be coming back.
Graidia lands an eye-catching right hand but again Whittaker shakes his head, saying "No, that didn't hurt."
As the round ends, Whittaker lands a three punch combo, with the last shot a little late.
Whittaker lands a booming left hand and evades the comeback in a larger than life, showy way. Graidia is frustrated, coming forward and another huge left uppercut lands cleanly and Graidia takes a knee! He is hurt.
Getting back up, Graidia comes back forward and Whittaker evades another left hook with a pirouette! That earns him a telling off by the referee. Spinning, even as a dance, is technically turning your back on your opponent.
Graidia lands a jab and then a right hand, but Whittaker is in full control.
Both fighters come out working orthodox and Whittaker is all over Graidia immediately. Graidia eats a ton of jabs, but manages to land a right counter as Whittaker comes back out, as is his style, straight up, hands down, spotlighting that impressive upper body speed. He can be hit, though, so needs to be careful with that as he works his way up the ranks.
Graidia is trying to close the distance but Whittaker is quick and has great defensive skills, getting out of trouble with no bother at all.
Ben Whittaker vs Khalid Graidia
Now a light heavyweight bout between Ben Whittaker and Khalid Graidia scheduled for eight rounds. Whittaker has been making waves in the division, and the Olympic silver medallist feels that he is the one to keep your eye on.
AND STILL: Caroline Dubois wins by UD
The judges saw the fight:
100-90
100-90
100-90
All in favor of Caroline Dubois, who retains her IBO women’s lightweight title.
That will be a win for Dubois and while giving her every round might be unkind to Reyes, it is also not terribly far off the mark. Reyes was in there every round, and did somoe great work, but Dubois was unfussed by anything, boxing well off the front foot and the back.
Let's see how the judges saw it.
The final round and Reyes is back to moving around the ring, trying to stop Dubois from keeping her back foot counter punching style going.
Dubois is now marching forward, trying to cut down the ring and both land some nice shots on the way both in and out. Dubois is firmly in control of this round and as the bell sounds both are throwing jabs.
Reyes lands a right hand that sends Dubois stumbling backward and this seems to gee Reyes on. She charges forward, but Dubois is not hurt at all and the attack is stopped dead with a good right by Dubois.
Reyes lands a nice uppercut.
As the round starts, they come together and Reyes lands four uncontested uppercuts to Dubois' chin. Dubois finally comes back with her own and lands a lovely right hand that sends Reyes backward a step.
A great counter left sends Reyes spinning as Dubois keeps chopping away.
Reyes lands a huge one two to get things going here. Dubois sticks to her plan of chopping at the body, landing with both hands to the ribs and just hacking away. Reyes is a little slower for her trouble.
They come together and both try and work the body, but as the round ends they are found circling each other.
Reyes comes out aggressive again, but is unable to get in cleanly as Dubois has a chopping counter punch that is making Reyes pay dearly for each incursion.
They come together and Dubois lands a great one two to the body, pushing Reyes back.
Dubois wobbles Reyes with a great counter right hook, using Reyes' own aggression against her. Both fighters square off and trade right hands, both landing cleanly. Dubois lands another hard right hook to the ear of Reyes. It looks as if Reyes is bleeding a little here.
As the round ends, they are found in a clench.
Reyes is trying to walk Dubois down as the round starts, pushing forward and trying to close that distance. Dubois is happy working on the back foot and has such a great technique, putting her entire body into every shot, particularly that right hook, and when it lands it is spiteful, hurtful.
A great right hook from Reyes shakes Dubois momentarily.
Reyes comes out and lands a nice right hand, forcing Dubois to work off the back foot a little bit here. Dubois doesn't look too uncomfortable with that. The distance closes and Reyes lands a peach of a left uppercut followed by a straight right hand.
Reyes looks like she really wants to keep this fight inside and she is doing nice work there.
With the shorter two minute rounds in women's boxing, there is little time to waste and both fighters come out throwing jabs and looking to get their way inside quickly.
Reyes goes in and lands a great uppercut but Dubois makes her pay with a beautiful counter combo, working the body of Reyes nicely. Dubois is hugely powerful and banging away now.
Reyes lands a hook after the bell, something that Dubois was not happy about.
Dubois comes out working from the southpaw side as Reyes works orthodox. Dubois is a natural orthodox fighter but has had great success working from the southpaw side in her career.
The two fighters paw at each other, throwing jabs and trying to get back out. Dubois lands a nice three punch combo with a strong right hook to the body.
Caroline Dubois vs Miranda Reyes
Now we move to a world title fight as Miranda Reyes challenges Caroline Dubois for the IBO women’s lightweight title.
Jeamie 'TKV' Tshikeva wins by UD
The referee saw it as 58-55, giving Dobvyshchenko one round and the point deduction but every other round going to TKV. That was a fair assessment of the fight I believe.
That is going to be a win for TKV surely, but the judges will have the final word. I personally gave Dobvyshchenko two rounds, and with the point deducted for a low blow at the end of the fifth it is tight, but in my eyes, TKV took it by a round.
Dobvyshchenko comes out and works TKV onto the ropes and letting his hands go a little here. TKV gets out of trouble with a nice right hand, pushing Dobvyshchenko back out toward the middle of the ring.
TKV lands a huge right hook to the body and looks like he may have hurt Dobvyshchenko but not enough to slow the Ukranian down. Dobvyshchenko plods forward again, trying to get something out of this assault. TKV lands a great right hand and Dobvyschenko is clearly gassed out.
As the bell goes, they are standing and trading. Great effort from both men.
Dobvyshchenko comes straight out and tries to walk TKV back a bit, something that TKV looks happy to go with, leaning on the ropes and inviting a right hand on. TKV comes out and ties Dobvyshchenko up before throwing his own right hand back.
Dobvyshchenko lands a nice one two, then an uppercut before eating a right hand from TKV. They go back onto the ropes and trade shots with Dobvyshchenko landing a nice right hand.
This is turning into a bit of a war, with the mobility of round one out the window now. Dobvyshchenko walks TKV down, now getting TKV onto the ropes landing a nice one-two.
TKV is trying to load up on that left uppercut, so far it hasn't landed. Dobvyshchenko is tap-tapping away but not really putting much behind the shots.
TKV now lands a great right hand and starts to showboat a little. He winds up and lands another right hand. He clearly feels that he is in the driving seat here.
Dobvyshchenko is less mobile, standing in front of TKV now and working exclusively from the orthodox style. He marches forward, forcing TKV to work off the back foot now.
TKV gets a warning for a low shot from the referee, who indicates that this is the fourth such blow that he has spotted. Will that affect TKV's plan of working the body?
The two men come out and clench, both working well on the inside, trading body shots and a nice right hook to the head from TKV. They are now standing and trading, both men landing heavy shots. That was a good round for TKV.
Dobvyshchenko comes out trying to stay on the move but TKV is doing a better job of cutting down the ring. TKV lands a nice uppercut and slows Dobvyshchenko down, before going back downstairs to work a little more. A nice overhand right from the Ukranian lands clean but TKV comes back with three more good body shots to end the round.
TKV comes out in his orthodox stance with Dobvyshchenko looking to switch styles, a natural orthodox but happily squaring off southpaw as well. TKV looks to be the bigger of the two men but is finding some trouble figuring out Dobvyshchenko. The Ukranian is switching angles, switching styles and staying on the move.
Both men jab and when they come in close, Dobvyshchenko works the body, lightly if such a thing can be said for heavyweights. As the round ends, it is perhaps Dobvyshchenko who was the busier of the two.
Undercard: Jeamie 'TKV' Tshikeva vs Kostiantyn Dovbyshchenko
We now move on to the regular undercard and kick things off with a six round heavyweight bout between British prospect Jeamie 'TKV' Tshikeva and Ukranian journeyman Kostiantyn Dovbyshchenko.
Preliminary: Francesca Hennessy vs Laura Belen Valdebenito
England's Francesca Hennessy moves to 3-0 (1 KO) with a 60-53 decision win over Argentina's Laura Valdebenito. The two fighters went six rounds and Hennessy got a shutout on the judge's card.
The Full Card
Joshua Buatsi vs Dan Azeez [light heavyweight]
Adam Azim vs Enock Poulsen [European super-lightweight title]
Caroline Dubois vs Miranda Reyes [IBO women’s lightweight title]
Ben Whittaker vs Khalid Graidia [light heavyweight]
Jeamie 'TKV' Tshikeva vs Kostiantyn Dovbyshchenko [heavyweight]
Francesca Hennessy vs Laura Belen Valdebenito [bantamweight]
The main card is set to get underway at 3 pm ET / 12 pm PT.
Tale of the tape
Joshua Buatsi
Age: 30
Stance: Orthodox
Height: 6ft 2in
Reach: 74.5”
Record: 17-0-0
Dan Azeez
Age: 34
Stance: Orthodox
Height: 5ft 10in
Reach: 71”
Record: 20-0-0
WELCOME!!!
Welcome to Diario AS USA’s live coverage as two undefeated light heavyweights in Joshua Buatsi and Dan Azeez square off in the OVO Wembley Arena in London, England.
This is a tasty British domestic rivalry and highly anticipated over on those shores. Originally meant to take place last October, Azeez had to pull out due to a back injury suffered in his final training session before the bout.
Buatsi and Azeez are friends and former sparring partners, but both will be eyeing up a shot at one or all of the titles currently held by Artur Beterbiev in the division. They are both ranked in the top four at light heavy and will feel that they have a rightful claim on a shot Beterbiev.
The WBA title is the only one not in Beterbiev’s hands and the winner of tonight’s eliminator will become the mandatory challenger for Dmitry Bivol and that WBA belt.
Buatsi is a former Olympic bronze medallist and has 13 KOs to his name in that 17-0 record. Azeez is 20-0 and has the same number of KOs as Buatsi.
On the undercard tonight is former Olympic silver medalist Ben Whittaker, who has been making waves of his own in the division now at 6-0. Tonight he is facing Khalid Graidia but Whittaker will have his eye on both Buatsi and Azeez and feels that in a short amount of time, he will be able to beat them both.