Anthony Yarde 'so f***ing angry' at Joshua Buatsi over lost London blockbuster
Yarde told iFL TV the pair "would have made a lot more money" and said Buatsi "wanted Hutchinson" after Willy Hutchinson beat Buatsi for the vacant WBC light heavyweight title.
Anthony Yarde said he was "so f***ing angry" with Joshua Buatsi after Willy Hutchinson beat Buatsi on a unanimous decision for the vacant WBC light heavyweight title at the AO Arena in Manchester on Saturday night.
Speaking to iFL TV after the scorecards were read, Yarde congratulated Hutchinson and said he "boxed beautifully, especially for the first half of the fight". He then turned on Buatsi: "I am so f***ing angry. Sorry for swearing, but I'm so pissed off at him."
When the interviewer put it to Yarde that he wanted a world title whoever it was against, he said: "Of course I want the world title, but it would have been a blockbuster in London, me against Buatsi." He added: "And we both would have made a lot more money. The fans wanted that fight for years."
Yarde said he had told Buatsi as much, and that the two of them could have fought for a world title if Buatsi had pushed for it. "But he wanted Hutchinson," Yarde said, adding that he believed Buatsi saw Hutchinson as the easier fight. "That's what I think," he said.
Before the rematch, Yarde told Sky Sports he "would probably want him to win so me and him could fight for a world title" and that he "would have preferred the Buatsi fight over all of them". He also called Buatsi "as boring as watching paint dry outside of the ring".
Yarde said he was "not a glory hunter" on Hutchinson's night but added: "If he calls me in the ring, I'm in the ring in a flash." Hutchinson called out Yarde in the ring after the fight, and Yarde said it was "100% a fight I want to take".
The judges scored the rematch 117-112, 115-113 and 115-113 for Hutchinson, who avenged his split-decision defeat to Buatsi in 2024. Yarde lost to David Benavidez for the same WBC title by seventh-round TKO.
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