Before Joshua Buatsi got the likelihood to punch Willy Hutchinson in the face, he had already grabbed him by the neck.
“My mum rang me, Alex. She wasn’t happy about that,” Buatsi says now, reflecting on a pre-fight face-off that spilled over utterly.
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It was a shocking scene forward of the British rivals’ first bout, back in 2024, particularly given Buatsi is one of the politest boxers one could want to meet.
Joshua Buatsi (left) and Willy Hutchinson during their first struggle in 2024 (Getty)
Buatsi, 33, could be forgiven for feeling antagonised by his fellow Briton, as Hutchinson’s phrases per minute someway eclipse his punches per spherical – and both units of ammo are meant to make you uncomfortable. Yet when Buatsi grabbed his former sparring accomplice by the neck, some questioned whether the lack of composure would bleed into struggle evening.
“I’ve always said I have a normal feeling towards him,” Buatsi tells The Independent forward of Saturday’s rematch. “Everyone I fight, no feeling about it. When we fight for those rounds, it’s a cold feeling, but before and after, I feel normal about him.” And yet? “When I thought Hutchinson overstepped, then I retaliated.
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“My dad rang. I can’t bear in mind what he said, but my mum let me know from the starting she was not completely happy about that. I said to her like: ‘That’s not a huge factor. We’ve been in much, much more hostile conditions.’ Not in boxing, but I was like: ‘I grabbed someone by the neck, it’s not a huge deal.’ But no, she wasn’t completely happy.”
She had no problem with her son punching Hutchinson in the face, though? “See, completely no drawback,” Buatsi laughs.
On that evening at Wembley, in the hour before his buddy Anthony Joshua suffered a brutal defeat by Daniel Dubois, Buatsi dropped Hutchinson and picked up a factors win. It had appeared to settle the grudge, until this summer time’s announcement that the light-heavyweights would conflict again.
This time, they do so in Manchester, headlining at AO Arena with the vacant WBC belt on the line.
Buatsi and Hutchinson pictured in September (PA)
Since their first struggle, Hutchinson has gone 2-0 while Buatsi has gone 1-1. For Buatsi, the first digit was his first loss – a determination against Callum Smith last 12 months, in a struggle of the 12 months contender; the latter end result was a slim win over Zach Parker, 12 months in the past.
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“Hutchinson said to look at my last two fights and his last two fights, which is attention-grabbing,” Buatsi says. “You can say, ‘Josh, you lost one and did not look good in the other one.’ That’s true, but the two guys he fought [Ezra Taylor and Mark Jeffers] are not as skilled as the two guys I fought. One [Smith] is a unified champion at super-middle, and he’s moved up and he’s huge at the weight and is very, very skilled.”
Regardless, fans are split on this rematch. A healthy contingent backs Buatsi to produce the win again, but a sizeable portion believes Hutchinson, 28, has growth and momentum on his side.
“I do not feel disrespected by it at all,” Buatsi insists. “It relies upon what you’re tuning in. If you’re online, making an attempt to keep up with the feedback, of course you’re going to be disheartened and really feel disrespected. But I do not do that, to be sincere with you. With all the wins and achievements… I do not do that, man. So, after a dangerous day in the workplace, I do not know what’s being said.
Buatsi and Callum Smith produced an on the spot basic in early 2025 (Getty)
“Someone might say: ‘Oh, Alex said you fought crap…'” I did not, I reassure Buatsi. “Alright, cool,” he laughs, “but I’m not going online to see what you said.”
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Buatsi displays on the Smith loss as a lesson and, unsurprisingly, his key takeaway was how robust he can be when needed. “I’d like to say I showed courage,” he says. He might have visited some “dark places” in the struggle, but he averted one in the aftermath thanks to household, religion, and charity work – all of which he says “healed me a lot”.
He cites his charity work in specific, saying: “The promises I made for if I had won, I still kept, because after you lose, you can be like: ‘Oh, forget that. I don’t want to do it.’ But no, I put myself last and said, ‘Look, we’re going to go even the extra mile, because charity is not about me, it’s about the people.’ First and foremost, it’s a lifestyle.
“There’s two issues we’re doing in Ghana, for instance,” he says, referencing his roots. “There’s the boxing group. I box, sit, run, practice, eat with them, just to let them know that I’m a actual particular person; you’re not just going to learn about me online and hear that I’m from Ghana but you’ve never seen me. No, work together with me, ask me questions. I can share my experiences, you can share yours, when needed I can perhaps give one or two bits of advice.
Buatsi bounced back from his loss to Smith by edging previous Zach Parker (Getty)
“And the orphans, it’s like… damn. We know our parents; once you know your mum and dad, I think you’re good. [But] they’ve been abandoned from young. We’re just trying to provide for them and make them feel loved – they have a roof over their head, they eat. Sometimes people try to complicate it, but it’s like: no, someone in need, feed them.”
Boxing permits Buatsi to put food in mouths, so on Saturday, he will put gloves in Hutchinson’s face. Hopefully there will be fingers around necks.
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