BUZZ Buatsi vs. Hutchinson II for vacant WBC light heavyweight title; Yarde backs Buatsi

Yarde has an interest in Manchester. He says he wants Joshua Buatsi to beat Willy Hutchinson on Nov. 7, because a win would keep alive the all-British fight he has long wanted, a fight that has never been made despite years of links.

His endorsement came with a jab. He called Buatsi "as boring as watching paint dry outside of the ring" and rated Hutchinson the better promoter of a fight, saying a bout with Hutchinson would also make sense. He said he would have preferred fighting Buatsi in England to travelling to Saudi Arabia, and would have chosen Buatsi over David Benavidez or Artur Beterbiev, because in his view it was a bigger fight.

The stakes are now bigger than first announced. The WBC confirmed on Oct. 9 that the winner becomes a full champion, not an interim holder, upgrading a rematch Queensberry first announced as an interim fight. The vacancy exists because Benavidez is staying at cruiserweight, where he faces Michal Cieslak in Glendale. The WBC says he keeps the right to challenge for the light heavyweight title, but no fight with either British contender is booked.

Buatsi, 33, won the first meeting at Wembley Stadium in September 2024, dropping Hutchinson in the sixth and ninth rounds. Two judges scored it 117-108 and 115-110 for him, and one had it 113-112 for Hutchinson. He later lost to Callum Smith, then beat Zach Parker in November. He is 20-1 with 13 knockouts.

Hutchinson, 28, of Scotland, is 20-2 with 14 stoppages. He rebuilt with wins over Mark Jeffers and Ezra Taylor, beating the previously unbeaten Taylor in Manchester in March, so he returns to the rematch with fights behind him.

What follows is open. The WBC holds its convention Nov. 8-13 in Acapulco and said eliminators and mandatory positions would be reviewed there. No first defense is named. Elsewhere in the division, Dmitry Bivol is set to face Callum Smith on a December card.