Weekend boxing tips including Joshua Buatsi v Dan Azeez & Adam Azim v Enock Poulsen

Our resident boxing expert Rob Tebbutt's previews this weekend's stacked BOXXER card and reveals where the betting value can be found across three of the standout bouts including Joshua Buatsi v Dan Azeez.
 

Joshua Buatsi v Dan Azeez Tips
Joshua Buatsi v Dan Azeez Bet Boosts >>
Adam Azim v Enock Poulsen Tips
Ben Whittaker v Khalid Graidia Tips
 

Joshua Buatsi v Dan Azeez Tips

- Joshua Buatsi to win 'By KO, TKO or Disqualification' @ 13/5
- Joshua Buatsi 'Between Rounds 7 - 12' @ 9/2

Starting off at the top of the bill at Wembley Arena on Saturday night, we see a terrific domestic showdown in the light-heavyweight division between Joshua Buatsi and Dan Azeez.

Two unbeaten contenders, both on the fringe of a world title shot, and both friends and former sparring partners too, let's not forget.

They will put that personal friendship to one side this weekend though, and personally speaking, this is a fight that I cannot wait to see.

Joshua Buatsi had an enormous amount of hype around him during the early stages of his career but hasn't really been able to make the most of that in recent times, suffering from a lack of inactivity.

Dan Azeez on the other hand has taken things step by step, winning the Area, English, British & Commonwealth and European light-heavyweight titles - leading to many in the business describing the upcoming bout as a genuine 50/50.

For me though, I do feel that Joshua Buatsi is a decent favourite, and I believe that the best version of Buatsi beats Dan Azeez; but make no mistake about it, Joshua Buatsi has to be at his best this weekend if he is to get the win he craves.

Where does the value lie in this fight? 

Well if you take a look at the outright market you can see that Buatsi is the sizeable 1/4 favourite, and I expect, given that they have shared the ring so many times before, they will ease into the fight and feel each other out during those initial rounds.

Buatsi does possess that extra injection of power and pace, and I feel that he will be able to utilise that during those middle rounds to get his opponent out of there.

Because of that I really like the price of 13/5 for Buatsi to win this fight at any time 'By KO, TKO or Disqualification', whilst I will also be taking a look at Buatsi to win the fight 'Between Rounds 7 - 12', which is available at 9/2.

Of course, Azeez has been on a roll recently though and if you are a backer of the real in-form fighter coming into this bout then you can get a massive 6/1 on him prevailing via a Decision. 

Joshua Buatsi v Dan Azeez Bet Boosts >>

Bet Builder
Fight Result: Joshua Buatsi
Joshua Buatsi to score 1 or More knockdowns
Under 10.5 Rounds
Was 4/1 >> Now 9/2

Bet Builder
Joshua Buatsi By Unanimous Decision
Joshua Buatsi to Score 1 or More knockdowns
Was 11/2 >> Now 6/1

Bet Builder
Fight Result: Dan Azeez
Dan Azeez to score 1 or More knockdowns
Over 10.5 Rounds
Was 13/2 >> Now 15/2

Bet Boosts and prices were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or fluctuation.
 

Adam Azim v Enock Poulsen Tips

- Adam Azim 'Between Rounds 7 - 12' @ 6/4

Chief support to the main event on Saturday night comes in the shape of Adam Azim, as he puts his European super-lightweight title on the line against Enock Poulsen.

Azim enjoyed a really successful 2023, showing that he is much more than just a puncher, and gained some valuable rounds in victories over Santos Reyes and Aram Fanyan, before stopping the negative Franck Petitjean late on in their bout last time out.

Azim has been showing a lot of improvement of late, displaying some patience and maturity in the paid ranks, and I feel he is going to have to do much of the same this weekend.

That said, I do believe that he will have too much in his locker for the former European title holder, Poulsen.

I do expect him to get the stoppage, although the 2/7 price to win 'By KO, TKO or Disqualification' is maybe a tad too short for me, so I will be looking at the British fighter getting the job done in the second half of the fight.

Azim to win 'Between Rounds 7 - 12' is priced up at 6/4 and given that all three of his last outings have gone deep and that Poulsen is a decent and tricky operator, I feel there is value to be had in this bout playing out in exactly the same way. 

Ben Whittaker v Khalid Graidia Tips

- Ben Whittaker 'Between Rounds 5 - 8' @ 21/10

This weekend's card also provides us the opportunity to see the latest steps of Ben Whittaker's professional career as he takes on Khalid Graidia.

Whittaker has struggled with consistency so far within the paid professional ranks, and hasn't been as active as he would have liked because of injury.

But we are seeing him back out again relatively quickly on the back of his win over Stiven Dredhaj in December against an opponent who will be quite familiar to boxing fans in Khalid Graidia.

Graidia may be 41 years old, but he is very tough, very rugged and incredibly experienced - he also doesn't get stopped very often, so this is a really good leveller for Whittaker.

Zach Parker is a very experienced fighter and a big puncher and he managed to stop Graidia last year, and if Whittaker is able to get the stoppage this weekend then it is going to come in the second half of their eight-round bout.

Whittaker 'Between Rounds 5 - 8' is priced up at 21/10, but I also wouldn't be surprised to see the fight last the full 24 minutes, given the fact that Graidia has only been stopped twice in his 13 professional defeats to date.

Whittaker does like to take his time, he likes to showboat as well, so it wouldn't come as too big a surprise to see Graidia take the fight to points, just as he did against Dan Azeez last summer.