Olympic Bronze Medalist and undefeated pro fighter, Joshua Buatsi, has split from Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom to join promoter Ben Shalom at BOXXER and Sky Sports.
‘JB’ is without defeat in 16 light heavyweight contests and boasts 13 stoppages from those wins. He has been under Hearn’s promotion since turning pro back in 2017, although has been frustratingly inactive over recent years.
The 175lb contender fought just once in 2020 – a seventh round stoppage over Marko Calic – twice in 2021 – knocking out Daniel Blenda Dos Santos and Ricards Bolotniks – and once in 2022 – a unanimous decision over domestic rival, Craig Richards.
Buatsi’s name holds weight in a busy division, with potential fights against Anthony Yarde, Lyndon Arthur and Callum Smith all intriguing British fans. His name has also been mentioned alongside Dan Azeez, who recently travelled to Paris to win the European title.
Buatsi’s not far off challenging the top dogs in Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol, either, being number 1 contender for Bivol’s WBA belt, and number 3 for both the WBC and WBO held by Beterbiev.
Making the announcement, Sky Sports said that Buatsi would be out on May 6 in Birmingham, with an opponent yet to be confirmed. Shalom said they wanted to ‘make up for lost time.’
“Buatsi wants the biggest fights possible in front of the largest possible audience to achieve his unlimited potential. He feels he wants to make up for lost time and we’re looking forward to sharing this journey with him, as he sets out to bring major nights and titles to Britain.”
Eddie Hearn recently said that Buatsi had turned down seven figures to face Bivol, and that he had matching rights in the terms of their contract, meaning an offer from BOXXER – or any other promoter – had to be brought to him first.
Ultimately, that didn’t stand in the way of the switch and next chapter for Joshua Buatsi.