JOSHUA BUATSI will face Dan Azeez on October 21 at the O2 Arena in London.
The news came today when the Sky Sports Boxing Twitter feed made the announcement.
Last month it was confirmed that both light-heavyweights had signed their part of the deal. Azeez confirmed he had prior to his last fight in Italy while Buatsi made an appearance on Sky Sports News to sign his paperwork.
In the chief support slot for the card named ‘Paths Collide’ Mikael Lawal defends his British cruiserweight title against Isaac Chamberlain. A fight which had been due to take place on the Lawrence Okolie-Chris Billam-Smith bill on May 27 in Bournemouth but during fight week the champion withdrew on medical grounds.
Buatsi vs Azeez has felt inevitable ever since the former joined his friend at the Boxxer promotional stable earlier this year. On May 6 the unbeaten 30-year-old returned to Sky Sports cameras in May, to make his debut for Ben Shalom, when he outpointed Pawel Stepien in his first fight since beating Craig Richards in May 2022.
Azeez has been on the crest of a wave since beating Hosea Burton for the British light-heavyweight title. The 33-year-old went on to add Commonwealth and European honours in rapid time.
Whoever wins the South-London derby will move one step closer to landing their first world title shot.
