The October 21st match between British light-heavyweights Joshua Buatsi and Dan Azeez has been canceled and will be postponed after the latter suffered a back injury during his final training session. While the match will be pushed back to a later date, the fight card itself may continue this upcoming Saturday at the O2 Arena in London.
According to Sky Sports, Dan Azeez (20-0, 13 KO’s) suffered a back injury during his final training session leading up to Saturday. The two 175-pounders were set to clash in not only a battle to put the winner in title contention, but the familiarity between the two fighters created an even more intriguing dynamic for their highly-anticipated bout.
The exact updates regarding the fight card will be communicated to the public shortly, as Sky Sports confirmed.
Meanwhile, Azeez expressed his utter disappointment with the injury he suffered in training.
“I’m devastated for this to happen on fight week,” Azeez told Sky Sports.
“It still hasn’t sunk in. I’ve never had to withdraw from a fight in my career before.
“I want to apologize to all the fans, especially those traveling to the fight. I am also extremely sorry to my opponent Joshua Buatsi, to my promoter, and to everyone involved who has worked so hard on this date. I hope this fight can be rescheduled as soon as possible.“
Boxxer―which represents both fighters―chairman Ben Shalom also appears to be heavily downtrodden after a recent deal with NBC and their streaming service Peacock would see the light-heavyweight bout between the two Brits broadcasted through their new partner for the first time.
“It’s tough to take for everyone involved. I know that Dan would do anything to be in the ring on Saturday night, and for this to happen at this stage is devastating,” Shalom said to Sky Sports.
“However, the health and safety of our fighters must come first. My heart goes out to Dan and Joshua, who have both completed tough camps, and to the fans, with more than 10,000 having made arrangements to come on Saturday.
“We will provide an update on the rest of the card and communicate a revised date for Buatsi-Azeez as soon as possible.“
Though no more details have been divulged surrounding Dan Azeez’s back injury, it may take anything from a couple of weeks to a few month before he is fully recovered, which in turn can adversely affect his fitness and training after he had already participated in a training camp for his fight with Joshua Buatsi (17-0, 13 KO’s).
In any case, both fighters seemed eager to come to blows with their relationship
