Dan Azeez says he still wants to fight fellow Briton Joshua Buatsi before Christmas
Dan Azeez says he wants to fight fellow Australian Joshua Buatsi before Christmas with the undefeated Londoner and is confident he has not suffered an injury ahead of the light-heavyweight showdown, which was due to take place this Saturday.
Azeez was ruled out of this weekend’s light-heavyweight showdown against compatriot Buatsi due to a back problem.
The fighters were set to put their friendship aside at the O2 Arena on Saturday evening, with the promise of a world title awaiting the winner.
It’s competition, dirty tricks. People who know me know I wouldn’t do that. I am a man of integrity and the sport means a lot to me.
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Sky Sports’ Andy Scott confirms that a back injury has forced Dan Azeez to withdraw from his crucial light-heavyweight clash at The O2 on Saturday night
But Azeez suffered an injury during his final training session and was forced to withdraw from his headliner with just four days to go after doctors advised him against competing.
“I’m obviously not in the best mood but it is what it is. The fight is over and we are looking for a rescheduled date in the diary,” the 34-year-old told Sky Sports.
“I had my last really hard session and after the session I felt pain in my lower back, and from then on it got worse and worse.
“I thought I could take some painkillers, but because of the restriction I couldn’t move the way I was supposed to, whether standing or sitting. After that I couldn’t box anymore.
“I still have some rehab to do and it looks positive. I thought it would take a lot longer than expected, so I’m pretty happy with that.
“Everyone knows you always get problems and I’ve been in fights where you get injuries. I thought it was just another problem and I had a few days until the fight but it just kept getting worse and worse to the point where I couldn’t do it anymore.” I didn’t move and that’s when it started to worry me.
“The fight was so close and then the injury happened, but I still had hope.”
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Buatsi says his fight against South London friend opponent Azeez is one he simply must win if he wants to stay on course for a world title shot
Azeez now hopes to recover in time to fight Buatsi before Christmas.
He said: “I know emotions are high, I can only imagine how he feels. Hopefully he understands and hopefully we can get this going.
“I would really like it to happen before the end of the year. That’s what it looks like. Once we get the scans and the results back, hopefully we can actually put a date on it.”
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Azeez reflects on his Nigerian heritage and reveals the boxers who inspired him as a child
Azeez also said he is furious over accusations that he feigned an injury ahead of the fight, adding: “That’s one of the things that’s most disturbing. I hear the story three weeks later. The show wasn’t supposed to go on, but it really did. For someone with my integrity, the type of fighter that I am, I would never get injured.
“People have worked hard to buy a ticket to come and people have traveled far. I just wouldn’t do that. It has nothing to do with Boxxer or Buatsi, got the injury recently.
“It was hurtful, especially from industry people. You have your social media people and your keyboard warriors, but when you have people in the industry who know the game and the industry and talk about conspiracies, that’s really bad. poor, I was furious.
“You have other promoters who might try to make the show not as successful as it would become. It’s competition, dirty tricks. People who know me know I wouldn’t do that. I’m a man of integrity and of the sport. ” means a lot to me.”
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