Buatsi booed at weigh-in before world title bout

Published1 hour ago

Joshua Buatsi was booed by the supporters of Willy Hutchinson at the weigh-in for their WBC light-heavyweight title fight on Saturday.

Scotland's Hutchinson and Buatsi meet in a rematch at Manchester's AO Arena, just over two years after the Londoner earned a split-decision win in a thrilling first contest.

As the pair stepped on the scales at Manchester's Freight Island, Buatsi cupped his ears and encouraged the jeers from Hutchinson's fanbase.

"He's talking like we haven't done it before but we have. I'm excited about the crowd - I'll see you all there," Buatsi said.

Saturday's contest was initially for the interim title but was upgraded when American David Benavidez gave up the WBC gold to move up to cruiserweight.

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Hutchinson, 28, was first to step on to the scales at Friday's ceremonial weigh-in and was greeted by huge cheers from his boisterous following.

Buatsi, however, had to be weighed twice in the official weigh-in on Friday morning after he was initially an ounce (28 grammes) over the light-heavyweight limit.

The 33-year-old made the championship weight of 12st 7lb (79kg) at the second attempt after taking his clothes off, with Hutchinson then making a derogatory reference to Buatsi being overweight when they came face to face later in the evening.

Buatsi, who won Olympic bronze in 2016, goes into the biggest fight of his career with a record of 20 wins and one defeat as a professional.

Hutchinson, the first Scottish boxer to win gold at an amateur World Championships, also has a record of 20 wins and two defeats.

Manchester crowd favours Hutchinson

Thursday's news conference was a media-only event in a laid-back setting, protecting Buatsi from any jeers on the biggest fight week of his career.

But Friday's weigh-in, which was held in front of around 100 members of the public, offered Buatsi a glimpse into the reception he may receive when making his ringwalk on Saturday.

There was a tension in the air in Manchester with the boxers going nose to nose and Hutchinson shouting "and the new" several times.

The Scottish fighter has said he believes he is the better boxer of the two and told Friday's excitable crowd that he will show them what Buatsi is "made of tomorrow - 100%".

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