Joshua Buatsi and Willy Hutchinson will go head to head on this weekend’s card headlined by Daniel Dubois vs Anthony Joshua. Joshua Buatsi and Willy Hutchinson met for a face to face meeting with DAZN and it wasn’t all that long before tensions flared between the two. Buatsi denied claims of Hutchinson supposedly handing him a beating in a past sparring session, and then Hutchinson got annoyed by Buatsi’s insinuations in return. But when asked specifically about how this stokes the fires of their impending fight, Both fighters gave their impressions.
“I don’t need nothing to fuel what I’ve signed up for,” Buatsi said. “I know what I’ve signed up for so it’s not, ‘oh this is going to give you more energy, more fuel in camp’ — no, there’s none of that.”
“This is everyday for me,” Hutchinson would said in response. “There’s nothing new here. I do [expect a knockout], I genuinely do. And I believe it’s an easier fight than Craig Richards. I said it all the last time...he was smiling in my face, he was laughing, just like (Buatsi) is doing right now.
“Exactly what I said, is a done. The only thing that I didn’t do with him is knock him out, but however he stayed up, I do not know. And he’s an easier fight than Craig Richards, one thousand million percent. Stylistically, for me, I’ll get him a lot easier than I got the other one.”
Willy Hutchinson is a naturally self-assured character but only he will know whether the outrageous levels of confidence he displayed before his excellent victory over Craig Richards in June was real or a front intended to throw Richards. Whichever it was, it worked.
Richards appeared baffled by the talented Scot’s behaviour before the fight and then seemed to try too hard to keep his cool and composure while it unfolded. He was never allowed to get a foothold, and the fight had slipped through his fingers by the time he threw caution to the wind in the later rounds.
It could be argued that Hutchinson, 18-1 (13 KOs), beat Richards in a more impressive fashion than Joshua Buatsi managed when he outpointed his fellow Londoner in 2022, and there is little doubt that the 26 year old’s self-belief has been bolstered by the victory.
Despite what he said publicly, Hutchinson must have gone into the fight with Richards with doubts – aware that he needed to prove himself – but today he has real evidence to base his claims on and he thinks that he will improve on his performance against Richards and stop Buatsi, 18-0 (13 KOs), when they fight for the interim WBO light-heavyweight title at Wembley Stadium on Saturday.
“I believe he’s an easier fight than Craig Richards,” he told DAZN during a head-to-head face off with Buatsi. “I said that all the last time, about the last man. He was smiling in my face. He was laughing. Just like he [Buatsi] is doing right now
“Exactly what I said, I done. The only thing I didn’t do with him is knock him out but, however he stayed up, I do not know. He’s an easier fight than Craig Richards – one thousand, million percent.
“Stylistically, for me, I’ll get him a lot easier than I got the other one. The other one half didn’t know what he was doing but he does know what he’s doing and he’ll fall right into something.”
We don’t get a true impression of a fighter’s ability until they are matched with somebody who instills an element of fear in them beforehand and who then tries to beat them. Hutchinson was a world youth champion as an amateur but, after a 13-fight apprenticeship, he failed his first test in 2021 when he was stopped in five rounds by Lennox Clarke after an ill-advised drop down to super middleweight.
Against Richards he passed his first real test at 175lbs with flying colours, and he insists that Buatsi will draw a similar performance out of him.
“I’ve had 19 fights,” Hutchinson said. “Eighteen of them weren’t worth two rolls. Not worth a shilling. The only one what was half worth something was Craig Richards and now this man
“[Lennox Clarke] wasn’t worth a shilling. I’m telling you now. There’s only one half-decent man that I’ve fought and it was that man [Richards] and that man's a harder fight than him [Buatsi].
“When I knock him out, what does that make him? They’re only gonna say he was exactly what I’m saying.”
Joshua Buatsi vs Willy Hutchinson takes place on Saturday, September 21, in front of over 90,000 fans at London’s Wembley Stadium. On the undercard of Dubois vs Joshua, the interim WBO light heavyweight title is on the line, with Hutchinson entering on a 5-match win streak (most recently besting Craig Richards back in June), and Buatsi entering with a spotless 18-0 record and who many consider the favorite. Buatsi already has his eyes on the Artur Beterbiev vs. Dimitry Bivol unification bout in October. You can watch Joshua Buatsi vs Willy Hutchinson without cable in the US on DAZN PPV.
The massive Wembley Stadium card could possibly break the venue’s boxing attendance record of 94,000 (held by Tyson Fury vs. Dillian Whyte). The seismic event is headlined by the IBF world heavyweight title bout between Daniel Dubois (c) and Anthony Joshua. Joining the Buatsi-Hutchinson bout in the undercard are Anthony Cacace vs Josh Warrington for the IBF and IBO super featherweight titles, and Hamzah Sheeraz v Tyler Denny for the European middleweight title.
IT'S time for another big AJ night at Wembley, but on the undercard Joshua Buatsi will be looking to make headlines of his own. The Rio 2016 Olympic bronze medallist takes on Willy Hutchinson in an all-British light-heavyweight clash in front of 96,000 people. Scot Hutchinson is coming off a big win over Craig Richards while Buatsi has beaten the likes of Dan Azeez, Ricards Bolotniks and Richards too in recent years. Hutchinson has suffered one defeat in his career, a damaging knockout loss to Lennox Clarke several years ago. Buatsi, 31, is still looking for a big breakout win and has yet to fight for a world title himself. And a win for 26-year-old Hutchinson over Buatsi would be a seismic one for his career, and could see him thrust into a world title bout first.
