Joshua Buatsi vs. Willy Hutchinson: Big Fight Preview & Prediction

Joshua Buatsi vs. Willy Hutchinson: Big Fight Preview & Prediction

Joshua Buatsi and Willy Hutchinson will head to Manchester’s AO Arena on Saturday night for a rematch that carries far more importance than it did two years ago. The somewhat contrived interim tagline has now been replaced by the real thing. The vacant WBC world light-heavyweight title will be on the line. Maybe in the case of Buatsi, even his entire career.

Buatsi (20-1) beat Hutchinson by split decision two years ago. Hutchinson was down twice in the first fight, and also lost a point, but somehow one judge still scored the fight for Hutchinson. I thought Buatsi (20-2) won clearly. And wide. The split verdict was baffling. But is anything in boxing clear-cut?

Hutchinson gets his chance at revenge. The wind is seemingly blowing in his direction to do exactly that. The career trajectory of both fighters could be going in completely different directions. Hutchinson has improved. Buatsi might have regressed.

The odds are close. The Scottish fighter is the slight betting favourite to get his revenge. The betting line might change before the first bell. Either way, the rematch is difficult to call. It all hinges on what Buatsi has left. Even he probably doesn’t know the answer to that question. He will on Saturday night. We all will.

Buatsi lost his unbeaten record to Callum Smith last year. A fight of the year contender that took place in Riyadh. A back-and-forth war of attrition that very few people saw. It should have been a headline fight in the UK, but it was wasted in the late afternoon slot it was given. Smith won, but it was still probably the best Buatsi we have seen to date. But at what cost? Both had to dig deep. In all honesty, too deep. A fight that took away plenty from both. How much, we are still not sure.

Nine months later, Buatsi took a controversial decision over Zach Parker. Cries of robbery did the rounds. I thought Parker won, but I could see how his negative tactics could have swung the fight away from him. It was certainly no robbery, but the Buatsi performance was deeply concerning. Did that brutal war with Smith take away what was left of his peak? At 33, he might already be on that irreversible slide.

Hutchinson is the fighter who has improved from the first fight. Or so it looks. Two solid wins over Mark Jeffers and Ezra Taylor indicate a fighter on the ascendancy. At 28, Hutchinson is at or approaching his peak. But with the greatest respect to Jeffers and Taylor, they are not at the level of a Joshua Buatsi. Hutchinson looked good in both fights, but did they flatter him somewhat?

It’s been a frustrating professional career for Buatsi. All that promise and ability hasn’t yet come to fruition. In simple terms, it just hasn’t quite happened for him. You have to wonder if it ever will. It really is a case of now or never for him. We just expected a little more from the 2016 Olympic medallist. But could we say that about Hutchinson also? But he is the one with a little more time left to achieve what was expected of him. The winner on Saturday night will have ticked a box or two for their resume.

We might be reading too much into the Zach Parker fight. It could have been just an off night against a style that Buatsi couldn’t quite figure out. But I’m not so sure we can just write it off as an anomaly. That war with Callum Smith has probably taken away something from Buatsi that can’t be put back. An ageing fight that has done real damage for the remainder of his career.

The evidence points to Hutchinson getting his revenge. It will go the distance, but it will be the younger and fresher fighter who will leave Manchester with his hand raised in victory. Don’t be surprised if it’s a little easier than people think.

Photo Credit: Queensberry Promotions