Eddie Hearn has shed some light on the future of Joshua Buatsi, and revealed the former Olympian turned down a whopping offer to fight Dmitry Bivol next.
Buatsi has been out of action since his all British clash with fellow Londoner Craig Richards last year, and had been tipped for a shot at WBA light heavyweight champion Bivol at some point in 2023.
However, after news broke this week that Buatsi was now a promotional free agent, Hearn revealed to ESBR Boxing that the soon-to-be 30 year old turned down a seven figure offer to face the Russian, and instead was pursuing a fight with current British champion Dan Azeez.
“He got made an offer, which we did match, and we’ll see what we do moving forward. We’ve offered him well over a million pounds to fight Dmitry Bivol – and he turned it down.”
“That’s disappointing. We want him to fight Callum Smith or Bivol, but I think he wants to fight Dan Azeez.”
“Josh is a great fighter, and we’ll see what his future holds. I believe he can win world titles.”
“Once considered a blue chip prospect, inactivity has saw Buatsi’s career stall in recent times and it is soon approaching a full year since he has been in the ring.”
Bivol looks set for a money spinning rematch with pound for pound star Canelo Álvarez in September, however it remains unclear who he will face in the meantime.
His second meeting with Canelo looks set to take place at 168lbs, meaning Bivol will have the chance to add the Mexican’s undisputed super middleweight crown to the light heavyweight world title already in his possession.