Craig Richards has questioned Dan Azeez’s mindset after he suggested that the loser of their fight may have to retire.

The south London rivals are this week heading to Accra, Ghana, for a high-stakes clash atop Matchroom’s first ever show in west Africa. Both men are in their mid-30s, but still harbour hopes of making a late charge toward a light heavyweight world title shot.

A defeat at Legon Sports Stadium on Saturday night, however, would almost certainly be a terminal blow to those ambitions. In fact, the 36-year-old Azeez (22-2-1, 14 KOs) has said that the loser of their clash will have to consider hanging them up for good.

During an interview with The Ring, Richards insisted he has not even considered the possibility of bowing out. He also told Azeez he will have “plenty of opportunities” to rebuild once he loses.

“I wouldn’t agree with Dan’s claim at all,” Richards said. “I always think that’s a bad mindset, when someone starts thinking that this will be the end if I don't succeed. It’s not a good mindset. You’ve got one foot out the door already.

“And I think once he loses, there’ll be fights for him after this. I think there’s so many guys who might want to use him as a benchmark or a yard stick. I think there’s plenty of opportunities for him.”

It is now 15 years since the first time Richards and Azeez sparred at Palmers Boxing Club in Catford, south London. They have since shared many rounds over the years and the fact they have never crossed paths as professionals seems strange.

Although Richards comes into this fight, which will be broadcast live on DAZN, off the back of a creditable eighth-round stoppage of Padraig McCrory (19-2, 9 KOs) in March, he has not won a fight scheduled for 12 since way back 2020, when he stopped Shakan Pitters in the ninth. Since then, Richards (19-4-1, 12 KOs) has lost to Dmitry Bivol, Joshua Buatsi and Willy Hutchinson on points over 12.

Azeez also lost to Buatsi via decision. He was beaten by Lewis Edmondson on points in October 2024, too.

“The winner can press on towards world honours after this,” Richards added. “But when Dan loses, the build back will be long. So, it depends what he wants to do and where he wants to go from it. For me, my brain hasn’t thought about that. I’m just fully locked in to winning this fight and then this is what this can set up for me afterwards. Not about retirement.

“I've not thought that if I don’t win, should I start applying for Amazon now? I’m just thinking if I win this is what it can lead to. I think after beating someone like Dan Azeez, I’ll start being ranked high in all the governing bodies after that. So, we'll see. Obviously, I can only do my job, and that is to fight and win.”

And what of those rounds shared behind closed doors? Is Richards gleaning his confidence from them?

“The first time was 15 years ago now,” Richards said. "So, we’ve both evolved a lot since then. Things have changed. Then we also sparred before he fought Hosea Burton for the British title in 2021. I helped him for that camp, so we got some rounds in a few times then. He kind of just ran off and did his thing from there. I’ve done my thing from there, too, and now we’ve come full circle.”