Joshua Buatsi’s Triumph over Dan Azeez
This past weekend saw one of the great technical battles of this century in British boxing. No doubt the majority of the focus this week will be on the cancellation of Fury vs Usyk. However, rather than focus on that disappointment. A better response would be to celebrate and discuss some of the tactics used by both Joshua Buatsi and Dan Azeez in their epic Light-Heavyweight clash.
Anticipating the Battle: Pre-fight Expectations
Going into the fight, what both men should do seemed clear. Joshua Buatsi was thought to have his best chance of playing a longer game behind a stiff jab. Dan Azeez conversely had demonstrated a good jab often for the opposite purpose, to close distance and attack the body.
Embed from Getty ImagesIt was understood that the fight might be the archetypal match-up between the long boxer and the shorter brawler. Although Azeez had shown skill in moving laterally between exchanges. Against the Olympian, it was thought an aggressive forward approach would serve him best.
Intense Aggression Displayed by Both Fighters
As the fight opened it was clear that Buatsi was unwilling to take a step backwards. This reluctance meant that his power punches would have to discipline Azeez into maintaining a greater range. Azeez on the other hand was willing to take a step back early to draw out the shots. In the first few rounds, this won him exchanges because he was the one who could step in and start one. Effectively he could dictate when exchanges happened.
Embed from Getty ImagesDan Azeez’s entry into the pocket was largely initiated by his jab. From his high-guard position, Azeez liked to use the rotation in his shoulders to put power in the punch and then remain in range continuing exchanging. “Locking horns” with Buatsi, Azeez’s height disadvantage suddenly worked in his favour. He could reliably get below Buatsi’s power shots whilst being close enough to hit the body. When slipping and rolling Azeez was simultaneously evading punches whilst loading up his own.
Embed from Getty ImagesFor example, if Azeez avoided a right hand via either slipping or rolling. His weight was then planted on his left foot allowing him to transfer weight back through his body for hooking counters. Given that Buatsi was in the process of throwing shots himself, he was often exposed to being caught clean.
A favourite technique of Dan Azeez throughout the fight was to initiate an exchange and then Buatsi was throwing his right hand down the centre line whilst moving his head off to the left. This allowed him to generate power as he threw his weight onto his lead foot whilst avoiding returns.
Buatsi Adapts
Joshua Buatsi, although potentially dropping some of the early rounds quickly found answers to this strategy. Namely, his uppercut and his left hook were what won him the fight. The reason Azeez struggled with these shots was because they attacked him from a trajectory out of his line of vision. As opposed to straight punches which he could see and evade these punches countered his movement.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe decision to throw the uppercut so relentlessly came as a response to Azeez continually getting underneath the straight right hand. Instead of trying to track Dan Azeez’s head movement and fire accurate straight punches at a target. Buatsi could simply counter any dipping movements with an uppercut. This was a counter to body movement rather than to a specific punch. Buatsi was also indiscriminate to where he threw it going to both the head and body. Often negating the elusive head movement of Azeez.
The other shot Buatsi worked on this was the left hook. The reasons this was so effective were similar to why the uppercut was. Often referred to as a “king of the counter punches”. The left hook comes in from an angle a fighter cannot see. When Azeez finished an exchange, he could be caught reliably with the left hook whilst he was resetting from either a punch or an upper-body movement.
Azeez’s Offence and Buatsi’s Strategy
These two punches, the uppercut and the hook, were even more effective when used together. This was because the uppercut if landed, would lift Azeez’s head into the trajectory of the hook. It was Azeez who at this point having lost early momentum was forced to go forward at all costs. Under the instructions of Buddy McGirt, Azeez launched a comeback in the 9th and 10th which was wholly dependent on forward movement. It was when he managed to get chest to chest, inside the range of Buatsi’s shots, that he found the most success.
Embed from Getty ImagesSmartly though it was Buatsi down the stretch who conserved his energy for eye-catching flurries at the end of the round. A classic tactic of Sugar Ray Leonard, this worked to deceive the judges into believing he had won. This worked as McGirt instructed Azeez to stop him from doing it.
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If he was using this strategy, it didn’t work, as it was only the knockdowns in the 11th which pulled him into a comfortable lead. This strategy is sometimes frowned upon because it plays on the rules rather than fighting purely for a finish. Buatsi certainly can’t be criticised like this given how exciting the fight was.
Controversy
It was in the final two rounds that the controversy arose. Azeez was knocked down twice when both knockdowns could be considered slips.
Embed from Getty ImagesBoth times a punch seemingly landed but Azeez arguably lost his balance, especially on the first knockdown, due to the moisture on the canvas.
Embed from Getty ImagesConsidering how close the fight was, and that Buatsi lost his footing at other points in the fight, this is a reminder of the role luck can play in boxing. Although Azeez may have been knocked down anyway, the truth is we will never know.
Buatsi finished the fight strongly with a different look. Switching to southpaw and swinging the overhand left provided him with some useful variation. Catching Azeez off guard so late in the fight with a “messier” shot allowed him to land hard shots from a new angle whilst Azeez was attacking in the same manner he had been the whole fight.
Final Thoughts
This fight offered everything good about boxing. Both tactical adjustments and displays of toughness and resolve were abundant from both men.
Embed from Getty ImagesThese 2 great domestic fighters, in their primes, risked all for the entertainment of the fans. This attitude is crucial in boxers if the sport is going to grow.
Image Credit: Deposit Photos