Earlier this month Matchroom Boxing announced their boxing schedule for the first quarter of 2021. Rising stars, all-British bouts, grudge matches, and world title fights all have their spot in a run of shows that gives fans something to look forward to. There was one notable absentee from the list though.
Eddie Hearn’s much touted light-heavyweight contender Joshua Buatsi was nowhere to be seen or heard and it appeared things had gone somewhat quiet for the 27-year-old. But fans of the former British champion shouldn’t have to wait too long to see their man back in the ring.
“I’ll be out in a couple of months,” Buatsi told Boxing Social this week. “Not on those dates announced but as always Matchroom have got dates that will be working around things, so I’ll have some news very shortly for everyone.”
No name or clues were given as to who his 14th opponent will be. Calls have been made for Buatsi to face Callum Johnson in a British belter, but regardless of who he faces the South Londoner believes that fans will look forward to it, solely based on his last performance.
Back in October, Buatsi (13-0, 11 KOs) walked to the ring as a strong odds-on favourite to comfortably beat Croatian outsider Marko Calic. The 33-year-old, who fought at heavyweight as an amateur, brought an unbeaten record to the party just as Buatsi did but the overall threat seemed little.
“He knows how to handle himself,” Buatsi said pre-fight of the well-travelled amateur. He was right. The night at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes turned into a bit of a scare. Buatsi got the job done eventually, displaying the ruthlessness we’ve become accustomed to and handled his business with a seventh round TKO. The fight brought a cut and swollen left eye as well as other hurdles that he had to overcome in the ring.
“After my last fight, seeing that side of me, I think people will look forward to [my next fight] anyway,” Buatsi said.
“They’ll want to see what I’ve learned or if it is going to be another fight where I have to dig in deep because no matter who it is that’s fighting, if a fighter has to dig in or face some adversity, the public will always enjoy it. So, I think if it’s something where I have to dig deep in they will enjoy it. If it’s a straightforward fight, they’re going to look to see if I’ve made improvements, so I think either way it’s a win-win.”
Photo: Scott Rawsthorne.
Buatsi found himself in moments of trouble and adversity against Calic. This coming after a three-year career where things had gone smoothly and his own way. With adversity comes questions, and by adapting to the situation at hand brings the answers. A good fighter knows how to do that, knows how to survive and eventually wins on any given night.
“Part of my preparation is to always imagine things not going my way and that helps me to push harder,” he says. “Obviously, you can’t prepare to have a swollen eye during a fight or limited vision so that’s different. So, I think it was more of okay things have gone your way in all your 12 fights that you’ve had. This [fight] really isn’t going how you planned it to be. There are questions being asked and there were questions that I was asking myself so it’s time to give some answers. It’s kind of that mentality, that questions were being asked and there were answers. So, for me from that point of view, this is something different so let’s see where you’re at.”
We will find out soon where Buatsi is at since Calic. For now though, attention turns to the world rankings. Buatsi, a bronze medallist at the 2016 Olympic games, has been talked about so often as a potential world champion, as far back as his first year as a pro.
His position in the IBF and WBA rankings signifies that a world title shot could come within the next 12 months. Sitting at No.3 (No.2 is vacant) with the IBF and No.2 in the WBA ratings means a final eliminator with Fanlong Meng or Robin Krasniqi may be around the corner. Sitting above them are champions Artur Beterbiev (WBC and IBF title holder) and Dmitry Bivol (WBA champion). Boxing Social decided to be the genie in the lamp and grant Buatsi the wish to fight either Beterbiev or Bivol for a world title. Here is what he said.
“Both come with pros and cons,” he began. “Beterbiev is nine years older than me. He’s the older of the two. Bivol is the younger one and you might say more inexperienced as a young champion, but I think Bivol is very experienced even though he is relatively young. You weigh it out. Whose style is going to be better suited for me. Beterbiev has got a 100% knockout ratio but is he slowing down? These are questions you can ask.
“Bivol hasn’t knocked out everyone but he’s still a good fighter and a good puncher. So, I think you might move to stylistically what suits me as a fighter. These are the kind of things I say to the trainer. ‘This is what you guys choose’. If they say this is the guy we’ve chose for you to fight then I’ll be like ‘okay, cool let’s prepare for it to get ready to fight’. So, it’s more for the trainer to be like yeah, we see more things in him, more weakness in him that you can exploit better than the other guy and we move with that.”
So long as he keeps winning it won’t really matter to Buatsi who he faces. One man who he will not be likely facing soon is Anthony Yarde. The two British rivals had long been linked to a domestic blockbuster that seemed to gain more website hits than traction. Like Buatsi, Yarde also fought in late 2020. Coming in against Commonwealth champion Lyndon Arthur, Yarde had the sounds of “Lions in The Camp” in his ear but the most important noise on the night came from the sound of Arthur’s jab, which was the key to his win. It rounded off what was a terrible year for Yarde who lost his father and grandmother in March and April to Coronavirus. Boxing isn’t everything as Buatsi soon says, but first he talked about the fight itself.
“It was a good fight. A close fight. I’ve only watched it once and that’s when it was live so the comments that I make is what I thought that instant and, in that instant, I thought [it was a] close fight. Arthur won it and he moves on. He [Yarde] lost a fight, it wasn’t his time. I don’t think its game over. People rang me and said, ‘So, does that mean you fighting Yarde is off?’ It doesn’t mean that. It just wasn’t his night when he fought that night.
“Life is bigger than boxing and I’m going to contradict myself. Boxing is our life, but life is bigger than boxing. Yarde had a couple of losses in his family and that’s superior to whatever is going on with boxing. We have to give credit to him for still being able to get into the ring, to get into the physical shape that he needs to be in to get into the ring because having problems like that and still preparing for a fight is draining. So, big respect to Yarde for taking the fight and for Lyndon as well. A fight that not many people thought he was going to win. In my eyes [he] wasn’t treated necessarily as the champion but he went in there and handled business. Him and [trainer] Pat Barrett, congratulations to them.”
Buatsi returned home to Ghana last year, a place which he grew up in until he left at nine-years-old. Leaving the United Kingdom for time away from fighting, as he told Boxing Social, doesn’t mean he gets to switch off from boxing. The next fight, the next opponent is often on his mind but being around his family and the people who knew him as a child brings him great comfort and a reminder as to what life might have been like had he not left when he did.
“I was born and raised in Ghana. It’s a big part of my life so going back there brings back memories and a good reminder to see how far I’ve come, where I’m going, situations that I could have been in and I’ve got close family that live there,” said Buatsi. “There is nothing better than being around your family and people that knew you before anything happened to you. People that knew you and loved you as you were so nothing’s superior to that really.”
As the interview came to a close there was one other thing which I, myself, wanted to touch on. Back in 2018, I interviewed Buatsi for another online outlet. I wanted to remind of something he said to me back in 2018. It was a response he gave when we spoke about material possessions and how they don’t motivate or interest him.
Back then, he said: “But who knows, maybe in my 15th fight I’ll have a Lamborghini.” It was tongue in cheek. His 15thfight should come this year so is an Italian supercar in his plans?
After some laughs, he answered: “If I had that kind of money in my 15th fight, I wouldn’t be putting it towards that at all! It’s still the same mentality. Materialistic things, I think, they only bring a temporary contentment. It’s not something that’s going to last long and the more I am in this game and growing in life I see things that are more long-term than short-term. If you see me with something nice then someone 100% gave it to me!”
Photo: Scott Rawsthorne.
Main image: Scott Rawsthorne.