Joshua Buatsi’s British battle with Dan Azeez this weekend has been postponed after Azeez suffered a back injury in his final training session.
Buatsi had been set to face Azeez in a crucial light-heavyweight clash at The O2 on Saturday night, live on Sky Sports, but doctors have ruled that Azeez is unable to fight due to a trapped nerve in his back.
Further details on Saturday’s event, including ticket information, and a revised date for Buatsi-Azeez will be communicated shortly.
“I’m devastated for this to happen on fight week,” said Azeez.
“It still hasn’t sunk in. I’ve never had to withdraw from a fight in my career before. I want to apologise to all the fans, especially those travelling 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 founder and CEO Ben Shalom said: “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. 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.”
