Light heavyweight contender Dan Azeez 20-0 (13) will be ready to return to action in mid-January after a late injury forced his withdrawal from his scheduled October 21 bout in London against friend turned foe Joshua Buatsi 17-0 (13).
The 34-year-old Azeez suffered what was described as a trapped nerve in his back in his final training session and received medical advice to pull out of the fight.
“I’m devastated for this to happen on fight week,” Azeez told Sky Sports at the time. “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.”
The Azeez vs Buatsi fight was sanctioned as a final WBA world title eliminator with the winner putting themselves in line for a shot at WBA 175-pound champion Dmitry Bivol 21-0 (11).
Promoter Ben Shalom is keen to get the bout rescheduled as soon as possible. He believes the all-British clash will rival the recent braces of bouts between Chris Eubank Jr and Liam Smith.
“For me the two biggest fights that we’ve had in this country this year have been Eubank-Smith, one and two, on British soil. For me that [Buatsi vs Azeez] was the third biggest fight in this country,” the BOXXER chief said to Sky Sports.
“The way it built and the interest that it generated and the devastation when it was off was felt across British boxing. I think that shows when you’ve got a real big fight and I think it’s going to be all the bigger for it.
“Both fighters have had to endure a lot in terms of the delay in that fight. I’m just really excited for them getting back in the ring. That fight will be announced imminently.”
In a previous interview with Sky Sports, Azeez explained the nature of his injury.
“I was having my last real hard session and after the session I could feel a pain in my lower back, and it got worse and worse from there,” he said.
“I thought I would be able to take some painkillers but the restriction, I couldn’t move the way I needed to move, both standing up and sitting down. I was not clear to box after that.
“I’ve been in fights where you get injuries. I thought it was just another niggle and I had a few days until the fight, but it just got worse and worse to the point where I couldn’t move and that’s when it was concerning for me.”