Joshua Buatsi claims his opponent Willie Hutchinson was “disrespectful” at the fight announcement before the pair grappled, adding that Hutchinson was “lying” about the sparring claims.
The pair will fight for the WBO interim light heavyweight title on the undercard of the Anthony Joshua vs Daniel Dubois fight at Wembley on Saturday night. Sky Sports Box OfficeHe could face the winner of the showdown between Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev next month.
Since Buatsi turned professional, 18 men have tried to beat him but failed. Hutchinson appeared confident he would win and managed to unsettle the normally calm Buatsi.
Hutchinson and Buatsi had already been at loggerheads ahead of Saturday’s 12-round bout, and when the bout was announced, emotions ran high and the hand-to-hand combat was tense, with Buatsi actually grabbing Hutchinson by the neck.
As for the pre-match altercation, Buatsi feels he should have just ignored it: “It was a bit disrespectful. Not too much. I just thought the guy was a bit annoying.”
“I thought I was going to talk to him after this and that was it. It started off as a discussion and then I ended up grabbing him. It was no big deal.”
“We should not be blinded by this kind of reaction. We have seen that it could have been a lot worse. So when people start accusing me of grabbing somebody, I’m like, well, it was a grab, it could have been a lot worse, come on.”
“The scuffle wasn’t a big deal, but I think people said, ‘I’ve never seen you like that before’ … but as always, we’re going to be focused and go out there and try to win.”
“He took a different approach. It may be an approach that works for him… I can’t read too much into it. It was two months ago that they strangled him.”
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Buatsi and Hutchinson exchanged frosty stares ahead of the undercard fight to the Joshua-Dubois fight at Wembley.
“Is he digging a hole for himself or is he doing something else? We’re going to fight. That’s enough for me. It’s not like, ‘Doing this made it worse for him,’ that’s the reality.”
“I’ve got 12 rounds to find out… I’m going to step in the ring, I know what I’m going to show and what I’m going to bring to the table.
“I’m happy to be in this position… this fight was put in front of me and it’s for the interim title. Joshua Buatsi on ‘grabbing’ Willy Hutchinson: ‘It got disrespectful’ | ‘He’s lying about sparring claims!’ | Boxing NewsI think everyone will realise this is a good opportunity.”
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Hutchinson made a bizarre analogy about playing against Buatsi during an open training session.
Hutchinson has previously claimed he “punched” Buatsi during sparring but the 31-year-old is adamant that Buatsi made it up.
“When someone is beating you, no matter what, you always remember that person. You never forget that person. I was beaten once by this guy in Ghana… and I haven’t forgotten it.
“This happened when I was 18 years old. I’ll never forget it. He [Hutchinson] When he said that to me, I thought, “You’re lying,” because I remember hiding in Ghana. I remember this, so why are you saying this?
“I think from his perspective, that’s what happened.”
The heavyweight showdown between Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois will be broadcast live on Saturday, September 21st. Sky Sports Box Office. Pre-order Joshua vs. Dubois now!
