Craig Richards vs Dan Azeez Preview Dec. 20th, 2022
Two veteran English light heavyweights will be battling it out in Accra, Ghana this Saturday, Dec. 20th as Craig Richards is set to meet Dan Azeez. The 10-round bout can be seen live in most nations on DAZN. Richards last fought in March when he stopped Padraig McCrory in the eighth round with a body shot. Azeez’s last outing resulted in a fourth-round TKO over Sulaimon Adeosun in October.
Richards vs Azeez Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Dan Azeez +209
- Craig Richards -280
My Pick
The 35-year-old Richards climbs into the ring with a mark of 19-4-1 with 12 Ko’s and has boxed 150 rounds since making his pro debut in 2015 following a pretty good amateur career. He stands 6-feet-1-inch tall with a 73-inch reach and possesses pretty good power as 63.2 per cent of his wins have come by stoppage including his last four. However, his record is just 4-3-1 in his last eight fights. He may be best remembered for his fine performance in a 12-round unanimous decision loss to Dmitry Bivol in May, 2021 in a shot at his WBA Super World Light Heavyweight Belt and also looked good against Joshua Buatsi in another 12-round unanimous defeat decision a year later.
Richards’ first pro loss came at the hands of Frank Buglioni by 12-round unanimous decision for the British light Heavyweight Title in 2017 and his last loss was a 12-round unanimous decision to Willy Hutchinson in a shot at the vacant WBC Silver Light Heavyweight Belt in June, 2024. His lone draw was an eight-round affair with Chad Sugden in 2019. Richards won the British Southern Area Super Middleweight Crown in 2017 with a 10-round decision win over Alan Higgins and captured the vacant WBA Continental light Heavyweight Title by stopping Jake Ball in the third round in 2019.
He also won the British Belt in 2020 by stopping Shakan Pitters in the ninth round. Richards took a huge step up in class against Bivol even though he may not have deserved a title shot but showed he was competitive enough to be a legitimate contender. He owns a solid chin as he’s never been stopped as a pro and can be a handful for any light heavyweight in the world if he’s at his best on fight night but he’s really more of a European-level fighter than a world-class one.
Azeez is now 36 years old and carries around a mark of 22-2-1 with 14 Ko’s. He turned pro back in 2018 and has boxed 171 rounds since. As an amateur he was crowned the national amateur (ABA) South of England champion three times and won the 2013 Box Cup tournament in London. He measures 5-feet-10 inches tall with an unlisted reach, so gives up three inches in height to Richards. As far as power is concerned, he matches Richards as 63.6 per cent of his victories have been by stoppage. He’s halted just one of his past six opponents though and is 2-2-1 in his past five outings.
Since turning pro Azeez has won the vacant British Southern Area Light-Heavyweight Title. He then won the English Belt in 2019 via a 10-round unanimous decision over Lawrence Osueke and defended it twice and then captured the vacant British Title in November, 2021 with a seventh-round TKO over Hosea Burton and has defended it once against Shakan Pitters. Azeez then met Rocky Fielding in December, 2022 and defended his belt while also winning the vacant Commonwealth Heavyweight Belt by stopping Fielding in the eighth round.
The belt was on the line for Azeez only in that bout as Fielding failed to make weight. Azeez then added the vacant European Title in March, 2023 when he halted Thomas Faure in the 12th round. He’s also beaten Reece Cartwright, Ricky Summers, Andre Sterling and Charles Adamu. His first defeat came at the hands of Joshua Buatsi in March, 2024 via a 12-round unanimous decision to lose his British and Commonwealth Belts. He fought again four months later and battled to an eight-round draw with Hrvoje Sep and his winless streak hit three in October, 2024 when he he dropped a 12-round majority decision to Lewis Edmondson in a shot at the vacant British and Commonwealth Light Heavyweight Titles.
Prediction…
Richards gained some valuable experience in his fights with Bivol, Hutchinson and Buatsi, which were all losses. However, he has fallen just short when stepping up in class. The good news here is that Azeez and Richards are in the same class as they’re both fine European-level boxers whose best days are likely behind them now. Still, that makes for an evenly-matched contest. Both boxers have good power and solid chins but I think Richards has a slight edge in skills and if he puts them to use it should be enough to see him come out on top in a close call.
Richards power and skills should be the difference.
Play: Richards -650 @ BetOnline.ag
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Craig Richards betting • Dan Azeez betting