‘I am the king of Britain!’ – Dan Azeez challenges light-heavyweight rivals to step up to domestic showdowns as he builds throwback legacy

15 fights into professional career, Dan Azeez has stood up and demanded to be counted among the other stars of boxing’s light-heavyweight division.

Having come up the hard way, the Lewisham fighter has forced himself into that conversation after capturing the Southern Area and English titles. Last November, he announced himself as a true force with a seventh-round knockout of Hosea Burton to become British champion, his proudest accomplishment to date.

‘I believe I am the king of Britain, you can’t not mention me when we are talking about the best light-heavyweights in the country,’ Azeez told Metro.co.uk. ‘That was my moment.’

Azeez, 32, is now carving out his own role alongside fellow Londoners Anthony Yarde, Joshua Buatsi and Craig Richards, with Callum Smith and Callum Johnson also in that thrilling picture.

The sheer number of elite domestic dust-ups that could be made means the light-heavyweight division is one of the most compelling around from a British perspective.

This week, it was announced that Buatsi and Richards will face off in May in a mouth-watering southeast London derby. Azeez is desperate to ensure that isn’t the only scrap made from that particular group of fighters and warns anyone daring to look down at him will be doing so at their peril.

‘I know Joshua and Craig very well. It is a good story and I think it will be an excellent fight,’ Azeez said. ‘I think more of us should keep banging that drum for these domestic fights. Some of the boys in the division, they think they are passed that level. They have the mindset: ‘You need to work your way up to fight me.’

‘If that’s their opinion, fair enough, but really and truly, we’ve all won British titles. We have all completed that stage so I don’t see why we