Joshua Buatsi rejects Willy Hutchinson's claim he was bullied into rematch: 'By him? No'

The pair meet again on Saturday at the AO Arena in Manchester for the vacant WBC light-heavyweight title, two years after Buatsi's split-decision win at Wembley.

By Combat Sports UK Staff · Published Mon 2 Nov, 18:08 UK · AI-assisted reporting

Joshua Buatsi speaks at a Queensberry press conference — Photo: Getty Images via The Ring

Post by @boxing_ts on X

Joshua Buatsi has dismissed Willy Hutchinson's claim that he was bullied into their rematch, telling talkSPORT he wanted something on the line.

"I definitely wasn't bullied into it," Buatsi said. "What I said was that I wanted something on the line. The minute we got it, everything was accepted on our side. So to say that I've been bullied into it, no way."

He added: "Bullied into it by who? By him? No. We met two years ago, we saw what happened, and this weekend we'll see what happened again."

Hutchinson told The Ring in September: "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?" He also said: "He's 33. He looked terrible in his last couple of fights."

Buatsi lost a unanimous decision to Callum Smith in February 2025 and then beat Zach Parker by majority decision that November. Hutchinson has won twice since their first fight, stopping Mark Jeffers in seven rounds and outpointing Ezra Taylor in March.

They meet on 7 November on DAZN, with the WBC title vacated by David Benavidez at stake after his move to cruiserweight. Buatsi won their first fight on a split decision in September 2024 after knocking Hutchinson down twice. Anthony Yarde has said he would probably want Buatsi to win so the two of them could fight for a world title.

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Joshua Buatsi Willy Hutchinson Zach Parker