Joshua Buatsi drops Dan Azeez twice, wins clear decision

Bring on the winner of the June 1 Dmitry Bivol-Artur Beterbiev fight?

Joshua Buatsi had no trouble with Dan Azeez in a title eliminator for Bivol’s 175-pound title, putting his opponent down twice and winning a one-sided decision Saturday in London.

The official scores were 117-109, 117-109 and 116-110.

Buatsi (18-0, 13 KOs) outboxed and outworked Azeez (20-1, 13 KOs) from the outset, including consistently good work to Azeez’s body.

Azeez hit the canvas twice in Round 11, although neither knockdown was conclusive. However, they didn’t factor into the result. Buatsi would’ve gotten the nod without them.

Buatsi is now in a strong position to challenge the winner of the Bivol-Beterbiev fight for the undisputed championship in Saudi Arabia, which was just announced.

However, he’ll have to wait on the outcome and what might follow. The winner of the title fight could do it a second time, which would push back Buatsi’s big opportunity even further.