Full Steam Ahead For The Hutch Train!
By Queensberry Promotions
(September 23rd) Willy Hutchinson has dismissed the threat presented by Joshua Buatsi ahead of the pair delivering a sequel at the AO Arena in Manchester on November 7.
The original encounter back in 2024 at Wembley Stadium went the way of Buatsi, who felled his opponent twice on his way to a decision victory. Hutchinson hints that all was not right for him under the Wembley arch and that he will be a different and far more menacing animal this time around with the WBC Interim world light heavyweight title belt on the line.
Hutchinson gets the opportunity to exorcise the demons of a damaging defeat, plus further his career prospects with a world title belt at the same time.
“It is a big fight and I have been looking for this rematch for two years, so it is big for me,” considered the 28-year-old. “I am looking forward to it and looking forward to getting the job done.
“It is like buy one, get one free! I am very happy how it has all worked out and I need to put that wrong right.”
Hutchinson is pretty damning in his assessment of the 2016 Olympian, suggesting that his fighting fortunes have entered into a downward spiral and is a declining force.
The intervening years, according to Hutchinson, have not been kind to Buatsi, who has lost to Callum Smith and beaten Zach Parker in this time.
“No, not better at all. He is just the same person I thought he was back then, so it was just one of those things.
“We could get into it, but we won’t. All I am interested in is the second fight. I haven’t got to do much differently, to be honest, just be right on the night and that’s it.
“If I am right I will smash him to pieces.
“One hundred per cent he is not on my level at all and I am going to show the world how good I am.”
Hutchinson is always happy to talk the talk, but he claims ramping up the rhetoric does not place any additional burden on himself.
“Not really because I should be able to deliver. It is not a maybe or if, it is something that should be done. So it is not really pressure.
“I am know how good I am so really and truly it should be a steady night’s work.
“He is worse than when he fought me. I am basing this on his last two fights and he is shot to bits, ever since the fight with me.
“He is not on my level and I am going to show it.”
Buatsi Shuts Out The Noise!
By: Queensberry Promotions
(September 21st) Joshua Buatsi is steeling himself for another verbal onslaught from Willy Hutchinson before the light heavyweight pair collide at the AO Arena in Manchester on Saturday November 7.
The all-British encounter represents a gateway to greatness for these two hugely talented 175-pounders, who have long promised to operate at the very highest level.
They aren’t strangers to each other either, with the rivals having tested each other out back in September 2024 at Wembley Stadium, where the 2016 Olympian Buatsi prevailed via a split decision following a rollercoaster ride of a fight.
Before their Wembley date, Buatsi had to contend with a barrage of cheeky chatter from the Scottish former amateur world champion. The reserved Londoner had his calm resolves severely challenged by the brash and occasionally bolshy Hutchinson.
A fragile peace was threatened on a number of occasions. This time around, Buatsi believes his opponent will adopt a calmer demeanour because familiarity has bred a degree of respect.
“We have been in the ring before, so his approach is different now,” reasoned the 33-year-old. “The first thing he said to me was ‘I respect you now’. For him, he had to fight me to respect me, whereas me, if you do boxing and step in that ring, you’ve got my respect. Regardless of who you are.”
However, new-found respect aside, Hutchinson also described Buatsi as now ‘shot to bits’. Not that the Croydon man is taking any notice.
“I couldn’t care less about it,” added the former WBO Interim world champion. “For the first fight he said all kinds of stuff and we had to step into the ring and sort it out. Everyone has a different approach and that is his approach.
“I don’t knock it, my approach is my approach Some people like it and some people don’t.”
So, did the relentless chatter from Hutchinson rattle him even slightly?
“No, but he was a bit annoying with certain things he said, where I thought he was provoking me a little bit.
“It was on TV and, if the cameras were somewhere else, he would never get away with it. But they were on us and we had to sit down and talk and all that stuff.
“It is part of the game and, like I said, it is his approach and I will never knock it.”
What Buatsi is absolutely certain of is over the magnitude of this forthcoming fight and the importance of it to his future career prospects. The WBC Interim world title is on the line, but the value of the belt could increase if the current champion takes an alternate path.
“Very important, it is the most important one,” he insisted. “You say that about every fight, but this one actually is the most important one.
“There is a lot on the line and this one is the most, most important one.
“Fair enough, it is somebody I have boxed before, but we are two years down the line. It is such an important fight for myself and for him as well.
“I just have to be on the winning side. I will get in that ring and it has to be everything. The work has to be done to get into position, but I am willing and I am down for it.”
Joshua Buatsi and Willy Hutchinson will renew their rivalry on Saturday, 7 November 2026, when the British light-heavyweight contenders meet for a second time with the vacant interim WBC World Light-Heavyweight Championship on the line at Manchester Arena in Manchester, Lancashire, United Kingdom.
The eagerly anticipated rematch brings together two of the division’s leading contenders more than two years after their first meeting, when Buatsi prevailed over Hutchinson by split decision in a fiercely contested WBO interim light-heavyweight title fight at Wembley Stadium on September 21, 2024. Buatsi dropped Hutchinson twice during the 12-round contest before securing the judges’ decision and claiming the interim championship. This time, the stakes are once again championship stakes, with the vacant interim WBC title providing the prize.
Joshua Buatsi, the Ghana-born British contender and 2016 Olympic bronze medallist, enters the rematch with a 20-1 professional record, including 13 victories inside the distance. After establishing himself as one of Britain’s leading light-heavyweights and capturing the WBO interim world title against Hutchinson, Buatsi suffered the first defeat of his professional career against former world champion Callum Smith in February 2025, losing a unanimous decision in Riyadh. He responded with a majority-decision victory over Zach Parker in Manchester on November 1, 2025, his most recent outing, to move back into the world-title picture. Buatsi now returns to Manchester seeking another championship triumph and an opportunity to add the interim WBC crown to his résumé.
Willy Hutchinson, the talented Scottish southpaw known as “The Hutch Train,” brings a 20-2 record with 14 knockouts into the rematch. A former European Junior and World Youth amateur champion and the first Scot to win World Amateur Championship gold, Hutchinson turned professional in 2017 and has since established himself as a major force at light-heavyweight. Following his narrow defeat to Buatsi, Hutchinson rebuilt with consecutive victories, stopping Mark Jeffers in October 2025 before defeating previously unbeaten Ezra Taylor by unanimous decision on March 28, 2026, in a contest for the vacant WBO Global Light-Heavyweight Championship. The Taylor victory extended Hutchinson’s winning streak to two and earned him another opportunity to settle the score with Buatsi.
The rematch will take place on Saturday, 7 November 2026, at Manchester Arena in Manchester, Lancashire, United Kingdom, under the jurisdiction of the British Boxing Board of Control, with Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions as promoter. The event will be broadcast live on DAZN. Current listings confirm Buatsi-Hutchinson II as the headline attraction for the vacant interim WBC World Light-Heavyweight Championship.
Hutchinson has made no secret of his desire to secure a second opportunity against Buatsi, having campaigned for the rematch ever since their first encounter. At the official launch, he made clear that the fight has been a long-term objective and that he believes the intervening two years have transformed him as a fighter. “I’ve waited two years for this one,” Hutchinson said, emphasizing his belief that he is now older, wiser, fitter and stronger and ready to fulfil his ambition of becoming world champion.
Buatsi, meanwhile, has approached the rematch with his customary measured focus, making clear that the championship stakes were the decisive factor in accepting the return bout. “It’s an important fight,” Buatsi said. “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 added that he and his team were immediately on board once the significance of the opportunity was communicated.
For Hutchinson, the contest represents the chance to rewrite the result of the first encounter and capture a major world title. For Buatsi, it is an opportunity to once again establish himself at the forefront of the 175-pound division and add another championship achievement to his career. With both men arriving off victories and the vacant interim WBC World Light-Heavyweight Championship at stake, their second meeting promises to be another compelling chapter in one of British boxing’s most intriguing rivalries.
Tickets for Buatsi vs. Hutchinson II - Saturday, November 7th, at AO Arena Manchester are on sale just (click here).
Watch every Queensberry show live worldwide on DAZN.
Joshua Buatsi vs. Willy Hutchinson
Launch Presser Buatsi and Hutchinson Set
For Highly Anticipated Rematch
For Vacant Interim WBC Light-Heavyweight Title!
(September 8th) Joshua Buatsi and Willy Hutchinson came face to face to officially launch their November 7 rematch at Manchester’s AO Arena, with the WBC title opportunity raising the stakes after Buatsi’s split-decision victory in their first meeting.
Joshua Buatsi and Willy Hutchinson are set to run it back — and this time, a world title shot is on the line.
Two years after Buatsi edged Hutchinson in a hard-fought split decision, the British light-heavyweights will meet again on November 7 at Manchester’s AO Arena. Hutchinson says he has waited two years to settle the score and is predicting the best version of himself yet, while Buatsi remains characteristically composed, insisting the only thing that matters is what is at stake.
“I’ve waited two year for this one,” Hutchinson said. “I said, ‘Give me the rematch.’ And here we are two years later… I’m very, very happy this fight’s happening.”
The confident “Hutch Train” believes he is entering the defining stretch of his career.
“I’m older, I’m wiser, I’m fitter, I’m stronger, I’m handsomer — I’m everything. You name it, I’m better from two years ago,” Hutchinson said. “This is the beginning of the Hutch Train becoming world champion.”
Buatsi, who dropped Hutchinson twice en route to winning their first 12-round encounter, was unmoved by the rematch talk and outside criticism, making clear that the prize is his motivation.
“There wasn’t a lot of things that made me want to take it,” Buatsi said. “It was for what was at stake… that’s the exact and only reason why I’ve taken it.”
Asked how he expects the rematch to unfold, Buatsi kept it simple: “I’ll go away, I’ll prepare, I’ll come back to win — and I’ll see everyone on November the 7th.”
Hutchinson, however, promised a far more emphatic result: “I know what I’m going to do on the 7th of November. I’m going to get this man out there and I’m going to push on with my career.”
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In an era spanning over 35 years, Hall of Fame boxing Promoter and Manager Frank Warren has worked with some of the biggest fighters in boxing history. Hamed, Bruno, Tyson, Calzaghe, Benn, Collins, Eubank, Khan and Hatton are some of the iconic names he has promoted during his career.
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