JOSHUA BUATSI won the light-heavyweight battle of South London over best pal Dan Azeez to claim the British title.
The pair had to put aside a long-term respect to put on a brilliant display of British boxing at its dignified and destructive best.
In the end it was two 11th round knockdowns that earned 30-year-old Croydon boy JB the win over his 34-year-old Catford pal as the judges rightly scored it: 116-110, 117-109 and 117-109.
The opener was tight, difficult to split, but Buatsi holding the centre of the ring probably impressed the judges. Azeez’s best early blow came in the second when he clipped his pal with a right hook.
Buatsi let slip a nervous grin out of frustration at letting his defence slip and gifting his old sparring partner an opening.
The fight really caught fire at the end of round three. After Buatsi had success with a couple of body attacks, Azeez landed two right hands to the head.
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It felt like a tight round but then something switched and they traded with real spite and until the bell halted the action.
When Buatsi enjoyed fourth-round success with more body attacks, Azeez dared to green across the ring.
But his confidence was punished by two slashing left hooks that spanked his right cheek and wiped the smile away.
Round five was a cracker, there was elite technical boxing early on, precise punches and gameplans. Then there was a shootout as two brave men put tactics aside to slug it out for the Wembley arena crowd.
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But Buatsi was definitely tagged back and the judges should have found it tough to split them.
Azeez ignored all of trainer Buddy McGirt’s orders to target Buatsi’s body and it paid off in the sixth when a right hand to the head was the best punch of the stanza.
Azeez was hurt at the end of round eight when a right hook seemed to stun him, he crouched down so low it looked from ringside that he was taking a count but he bounced back up and kept on fighting.
There was a bizarre moment before round nine when a white towel was thrown in from the Azeez corner but it was sent in for the ref to mop up a wet patch in the ring, not for Azeez to surrender.
Ten was another magnificent advert for British boxing as both brave men boxed well and banged hard.
Azeez hit the deck in round eleven when a right hand seemed to rob him of his senses, he bounced up and brushed it off to return to war.
But just before the bell he was whacked back down to the canvas for a 10-7 round and left desperately needing a last-gasp knockout.
But it was a dominant finish from Buatsi who almost got the late stoppage, the bell came at just the right time to save Azeez from his own bravery and the genuine hug they shared after was pugilism perfection.
The win means Buatsi is now the WBA mandatory challenger – with fellow undefeated Dmitry Bivol holding that title.
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
