Joshua Buatsi after Hutchinson defeat: 'There's no space for second place. You have to win'

Buatsi told DAZN in his changing room that the belt was not there "so it's a huge disappointment" after Willy Hutchinson won the vacant WBC light heavyweight title on a unanimous decision in Manchester.

Joshua Buatsi said "there's no space for second place" in boxing after Willy Hutchinson beat him on a unanimous decision for the vacant WBC light heavyweight title at the AO Arena in Manchester on Saturday night.

Speaking to DAZN in his changing room after the fight, Buatsi said he had to watch it back before he started "saying things", adding: "End of the day, the belt's not in this changing room, so it's a huge disappointment."

Asked whether he could still be proud of what he had already achieved, Buatsi said: "We can always go back and go back. In our sport, like, you know, there's no space for second place. You have to win." He added that "the belt is not here".

Buatsi said that growing up he did not think about or dream of a world title, and that boxing "wasn't something that I even thought about" when he first came to this country. Of all the venues, shows and fights since, he said: "All of that, it's a blur."

The judges scored the rematch 117-112, 115-113 and 115-113 for Hutchinson, who avenged his split-decision defeat to Buatsi in 2024 and won the first world title of his career. Buatsi is now 20-2.

Hutchinson called out Anthony Yarde in the ring after the fight, and Yarde said it was "100% a fight I want to take".

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