Joshua Buatsi claims his opponent Willy Hutchinson “got disrespectful” before the pair grappled at their fight announcement, adding Hutchinson is “lying” about sparring claims.
The pair do battle for the WBO interim light-heavyweight title at Wembley on Saturday night on the Anthony Joshua-Daniel Dubois undercard, live on Sky Sports Box Office, with a potential clash against the winner of next month’s undisputed showdown between Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev on the horizon for the victor.
Eighteen men have tried to beat Buatsi since he turned professional and all of them have failed. Hutchinson has cut a confident figure he will be the one to succeed, and has been successful in ruffling the usually relaxed Buatsi.
Hutchinson and Buatsi have already traded barbs ahead of Saturday’s 12-rounder, with tempers boiling over when the fight was announced and them engaging in a tense head-to-head as well. Indeed, Buatsi ended up grabbing Hutchinson around the neck.
On that pre-fight altercation, Buatsi feels it should be dismissed: “I felt it got a bit disrespectful. Not too much. I was just like, this guy’s a bit annoying.
“I was like after this, I’m going to talk to him. And that’s all it was. It started off as a talk which then led to me grabbing him. That’s nothing.
“We shouldn’t even blink at a reaction like that. We’ve seen worse and worse could have happened. So when there’s a fuss that I grabbed someone, I’m like, it was a grab. It could have been so much worse. Come on.
“The grabbing wasn’t that much of a big thing, but I guess people were like: ‘We haven’t seen you like that’… But as always we go into the fight locked in and fight to come out on top.
“He’s taken a different approach. Maybe an approach that works for him…I can’t read too much into it. Strangling him was two months ago.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Buatsi and Hutchinson were involved in an icy stare off ahead of their fight at Wembley on the undercard of Joshua versus Dubois
“Is he digging a hole for himself or whatever it is? We’re going to fight. That’s enough for me. It’s not about ‘doing this made it worse for him’, it is what it is.
“We’ve got 12 rounds to find that out…We’re going to get in the ring, I know what I’m going to present and what I’m going to bring.
“I’m happy to be in this position…This fight was put in front of me and it’s for the Interim Joshua Buatsi on 'grabbing' Willy Hutchinson: 'It got disrespectful' | 'He's lying about sparring claims!'. Everyone must see this was a good opportunity that came up.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Hutchinson made a bizarre analogy about facing
Buatsi during the open workouts
Hutchinson has claimed he previously “battered” Buatsi in sparring, but the 31-year-old is adamant the Scot has made that up.
“When someone’s giving you a hiding, no matter what, you always remember that person. You never forget that person. I’ve been given a hiding one time by this guy in Ghana… And I haven’t forgotten that.
“This was when I was 18. I’ve never forgotten it. When he [Hutchinson] said that, I was like you’re lying because I remember the hiding I took in Ghana. This one I would remember, so why are you saying it?
“From his perspective that’s what happened so I hear it.”
Anthony Joshua’s heavyweight showdown with Daniel Dubois takes place on Saturday September 21 live on Sky Sports Box Office. Book Joshua v Dubois now!
