Joshua Buatsi vs. Willy Hutchinson II | DAZN - 7 November 2026

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CONFIRMED: Joshua Buatsi and Willy Hutchinson will rematch for the WBC interim light heavyweight title on Nov. 7 at the AO Arena in Manchester live on DAZN.

[Taansend]

I can see Willy nicking this one.

[Cent0089]

Does Bivol still has all 4 belts ?

[golden_labrador]

if Buatsi really wants it he'll win

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Buatsi vs Hutchinson 2

Buatsi (20-1, 13 KO) and Hutchinson (20-2, 14 KO) didn’t get the headlines of Dubois and Wardley for their September 2024 fight, but it was a competitive bout that Buatsi won by split decision. It wasn’t the most controversial fight in the world, but plenty felt Hutchinson deserved it despite being dropped twice and docked a point in the seventh round.

The bout will be for the interim WBC 175 lb title this time. Buatsi didn’t sound all that enthused about running it back with Hutchinson, and pretty much admitted that without just blatantly saying it.

“This is what was put in front of me. He said we were gonna run it back two years ago, so here we are, man,” Buatsi said. “Something’s at stake. If nothing was at stake, I wouldn’t be here.”

“I’m very, very excited. This has took two years to get here, and now we’re here again,” Hutchinson said. “I told him two years ago after the fight, ‘I’m gonna get ya,’ and now we’re here. I’m gonna win. Simple.”

[Boxerbeetle]

I keep reading the thread title as if it’s referring to
Willy Hutchinson the Second. Like he’s in the royal family or something

[gilgamesh]

Does Bivol still has all 4 belts ?

It's been more than a week since he won them so I'm sure No.

[Taansend]

I keep reading the thread title as if it’s referring to
Willy Hutchinson the Second. Like he’s in the royal family or something

There IS an opening for a Royal Willy now Andrew has been banished.

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Launch press conference

[THEBUTCH]

What is Buatsi doing with his career ?!

I'd argue Joshua is a better boxer than Yarde with better wins on his record, yet Yarde has had 3 undeserved & failed attempts at a world title and Buatsi...zero !

Lyndon Arthur & Craig Richards have both had a stab at Bivol's titles, but sweet F A for Joshua

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[stujones]

What is Buatsi doing with his career ?!

I'd argue Joshua is a better boxer than Yarde with better wins on his record, yet Yarde has had 3 undeserved & failed attempts at a world title and Buatsi...zero !

Lyndon Arthur & Craig Richards have both had a stab at Bivol's titles, but sweet F A for Joshua

Yes and when you add his Olympic pedigree it is certainly a bizarre career. He was being hyped as the next David Haye after his Olympic run - to think he's not even had a shot is bizarre and most fighters with Olympic pedigree usually get their shot within 4 years - he's now been 11, still apparently knocking on the door, but not got his shot.

Its been the most weird of careers. He still fights like he is a young 19 year old learning his trade.

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HUTCHINSON RELISHES CHANCE TO EVEN SCORE WITH BUATSI

Willy Hutchinson has campaigned long and loud for the chance to even the score with Joshua Buatsi, and he finally has his chance.

In September 2024, Hutchinson (20-2, 14 KOs) was dropped twice before losing a split decision to Buatsi (20-1, 13 KOs) in a WBO interim light heavyweight title fight.

On November 7, the British rivals meet in a high-stakes rematch. The WBC interim 175-pound title will be on the line when the pair meet at Manchester’s AO Arena.

Hutchinson is ranked No. 7 by The Ring, while Buatsi is positioned at No. 5.

The 28-year-old Scotsman confesses he's never wanted a fight as much as this one.

“No. I wanted this fight. I wanted it for two years,” Hutchinson told The Ring.

“I didn't think he would ever take it again but he's been bullied into taking this fight because where else does he go? If the interim title wasn't on the line he would never fight me but who was he going to fight? There's no one there.

“He's not a superstar, is he? He's just ... done alright.”

Hutchinson has been beaten twice during his professional career. The first was a shocking fifth-round loss to Lennox Clarke in a British super-middleweight title fight in March 2021, and could be put down to the difficulty in making 168 pounds. The loss to Buatsi, however, was simply a case of meeting a man who was better than him on the night.

Hutchinson admits that frustration at not doing himself justice still lingers but insists the defeat hasn’t eaten away at him.

“It's not really. It's never eaten me up at all,” he said.

“It's knowing what I can do and knowing what I should have done to him. It's never that it’s ate me up because he beat me, no. It's what I know I can do and what I can do against him. He's a steady night's work and that is the truth. I said it two years ago, but here we are, second time running up.”

If Hutchinson is prone to instinctive outbursts, Buatsi is a cerebral character who rarely, if ever, gets drawn into saying something he doesn’t want to.

Buatsi has been open in admitting that he had no interest in a potential rematch until the interim WBC belt was added to the mix. The full champion is none other than The Ring's pound-for-pound No. 5 star David Benavidez.

Just minutes before sitting down with The Ring, Hutchinson had spent some time shooting a face-to-face interview with Buatsi.

He has plenty of questions about the 33-year-old Londoner’s level of motivation and ambition but experience has taught him he is unlikely to get any kind of reaction before the first bell rings.

“He’s not even hard to read, I just wouldn't really care how he thinks to be honest. I'm going to be completely honest, I don't know what he's thinking or what he's doing,” Hutchinson said.

“He's 33. He looked terrible in his last couple of fights. Does he feel like he's got much to prove? He's been paid well. Does he really want it anymore? I'm not too sure.”

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BUATSI ALL BUSINESS AHEAD OF HUTCHINSON REMATCH

The light heavyweight rivals will meet at Manchester’s AO Arena on November 7. Buatsi is ranked at No. 5 by The Ring at 175 pounds while Hutchinson sits at No. 7.

The two first met on the undercard of the IBF heavyweight title fight between Daniel Dubois and Anthony Joshua in September 2024. Buatsi (20-1, 13 KOs) dropped the belligerent Hutchinson (20-2, 14 KOs) twice and generally outboxed him before being awarded a far-too-close split decision.

That win earned the 33-year-old Londoner the WBO interim light heavyweight title. This time, the WBC’s interim belt will be on the line.

Some fighters might feel slighted at having to go over old ground against a fighter they've already beaten relatively comfortably. Others may take the fight for granted, assume things will be even easier the second time around and overlook the task at hand.

Buatsi isn’t that type of character. For him, a second fight with Hutchinson is a means to an end.

“The mindset is that it's an important fight. It’s a fight that's happened before but here we are with a rematch with something on the line. Something very important on the line,” he said.

“Once that was communicated to me, my team and I said, 'Yep, we're in.' So, here we are.”

The two couldn’t be more different.

The energetic, unpredictable Hutchinson has been banging the drum for a rematch from the moment the first fight ended.

A favorite of YouTube boxing channels, Hutchinson has mentioned Buatsi’s name in almost every interview since Buatsi had his hand raised under the arch at Wembley Stadium.

Calm, composed Buatsi has never risen to any of the bait Hutchinson has laid out for him and insists that the idea of shutting the 28-year-old up once and for all didn’t factor into his decision to accept the fight at all.

“There wasn't a lot of things that made me want to take it,” Buatsi said honestly.

“It was for what was at stake. The venue, the ring, whatever it is, I couldn’t care less. But it's what is at stake. So, that's the exact and only reason why I've taken it.”

Although the fight is still two months away, Buatsi has already entered fight mode.

Despite finally snaring the fight he has long wanted, Hutchinson seemed to realize that and resisted the urge to poke or insult Buatsi as the two completed a day of media duties.

It would be a major surprise if Hutchinson were able to remain on such an even keel all the way up to the first bell but Buatsi knows exactly what to expect and won’t alter his own approach whatsoever.

“Leading up to the last fight, I didn't say many things and it's going to be the same again,” he said.

“You wouldn't get any different from me. I'll go away. I'll prepare. I'll come back to win and I'll see everyone on November 7. It's very simple.”