On Thursday Joshua Buatsi and Dan Azeez will go head-to-head in front of an audience of supporters for the first live recording of The Gloves Are Off. Johnny Nelson will be the man in the middle and he looks forward to the event…
A good Gloves Are Off, two good fighters, the atmosphere, you can’t beat it. The fighters are going to be inspired, they’re going to be influenced by their fans.
So that’s why their reaction is going to be more authentic. When it gets to that point it’s about controlling the circus.
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Buatsi demands a curveball question as he reveals that when he has sparred Azeez in the past his strength was always his overhand right
I love that live environment because you can feed off the energy. So I’m actually probably looking forward to it more being live than it being in a studio.
Some of the other Gloves Are Off we did that were a little hairy and I think: ‘Imagine if that was live!’
It’s a good thing for the public to see, to get involved in. Those awkward silent moments, the air will be filled with the ‘oohs’ and the ‘aahs’.
But the pressure’s on the fighters. It’s about the fighters and now the fighters have got to perform and they’ve got to hold their own in front of their fans. That’s where it changes.
I used to fight. So I understand. So when you do the Gloves Are Off it’s got to be somebody that’s actually done it. I love doing this stuff. I love it because I get the fighters.
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Buatsi and Azeez come face-to-face at Wembley Arena ahead of their huge fight live on Sky Sports on Saturday night
Dan, his gameplan is to put as much pressure on Joshua Buatsi as possible. As in saying: ‘You are the favourite. Accept you’re the favourite.’
Because in his head he’s thinking if all the expectation is on Buatsi, he doesn’t like that. He doesn’t like being that guy, even though he is.
So he’s trying to play it down. For Buatsi he’s got to show a side to him that he’s uncomfortable with, he’s got to be raw. He’s got to be blunt. He’s got to be to the point, he’s got to accept his position.
He’s seeing a guy that used to be his student obviously talking to him on a level. If you’ve got a big ego that’s hard to swallow.
That kind of mind game which Dan is trying to create is how he wants to fight. He can’t let Josh try to dominate the fight by boxing. If he does, he wins and he wins it conclusively, he wins it well.
Dan’s got to get him to get emotional. He’s got to get him involved, to get him to fight with more emotion than common sense.
So that’s why he’s trying to be disrespectful. That’s why he’s trying to do all these things, that’s why he’s trying to get at him. There’s a method behind the madness.
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Ahead of his blockbuster clash against Buatsi, Azeez finds his rhythm by taking on a new challenge outside of the ring
Dan doesn’t like how he’s been portrayed. He doesn’t like the insinuations Joshua Buatsi has laid down in regards to that. He thinks: ‘You should know me better.’ He’s taken that personally.
Regardless that these two guys are friends, or were friends, ‘frenemies’, regardless of that situation, the problem is Dan is really offended. And I’d be offended.
I don’t believe there’s any hatred there. I do believe there’s professional jealousy there.
It doesn’t have to be chairs flying. These guys for their career, for their professional ego, need to win this fight.
Don’t miss the Buatsi vs Azeez: The Gloves Are Off Live on Thursday from 2pm
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