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British rivals Joshua Buatsi and Willy Hutchinson meet in a rematch for the vacant WBC light-heavyweight title at the AO Arena in Manchester on Saturday. Buatsi secured a split-decision victory over Hutchinson in their first encounter at Wembley Stadium in September 2024, and the pair now return to the ring to battle for the world strap.
How to Follow and Schedule
Live text commentary will begin at 21:00 GMT on Saturday, 7 November on the BBC Sport website and app, alongside coverage through the 5 Live Boxing podcast. The main event ringwalks in Manchester are expected around 22:00 GMT, though all timings are estimated and subject to change. Meanwhile, Chris Billam-Smith headlines against fellow Briton Cheavon Clarke at London’s Copper Box Arena, with ringwalks also expected around 22:00 GMT.
The Buatsi versus Hutchinson undercard features Brad Rea against Ezra Taylor at light-heavyweight, Zak Miller versus Gully Powar at featherweight, and Jack Turner against Andres Gregorio at super-flyweight, alongside John Joe Carrigan and Stephen Clarke in super-middleweight bouts against opponents to be confirmed. The Billam-Smith versus Clarke card includes Denzel Bentley against Shane Mosley Jr at middleweight, Damazion Vanhouter against Ivan Balaz at heavyweight, Sam Hickey against Troy Coleman at middleweight, Kayla Allen against Julia Igel at light-welterweight, and Lucas Roehrig against Connal McDonald at cruiserweight.
Fighter Records and World Belts
Buatsi and Hutchinson launched their professional careers three months apart in 2017 after Buatsi won bronze for Team GB at the 2016 Olympics. Buatsi won his first 19 professional fights, including 13 knockouts, before capturing the WBO interim light-heavyweight title against Hutchinson and suffering his sole defeat against Smith in February 2025. Following a majority-decision victory over Parker in November 2025, Buatsi holds a 20-1 record. Hutchinson began his career with 13 straight wins before a 2021 defeat against Lennox Clarke for the British and Commonwealth super-middleweight titles. After five successive wins and his subsequent loss to Buatsi, Hutchinson rebounded with victories over Mark Jeffers and Ezra Taylor to bring his record to 20 wins and two defeats with 14 stoppages.
The fighters contest the WBC light-heavyweight belt left vacant after American David Benavidez moved up to cruiserweight. Dmitry Bivol holds the WBA, WBO, and IBF light-heavyweight titles and defends them against Callum Smith in Yekaterinburg on 12 December.
Recalling the First Fight and Billam-Smith vs Clarke
During their first bout on the undercard of Daniel Dubois against Anthony Joshua at Wembley Stadium, Hutchinson started strongly before sustaining a cut to his right eye from a clash of heads in the fifth round. Buatsi scored knockdowns in the sixth and ninth rounds, while Hutchinson had a point deducted in the seventh for use of the head. One judge scored the contest 113-112 for Hutchinson, while the other two scored it 117-108 and 115-110 for Buatsi. Statistics showed Buatsi landed 264 of 600 punches compared to 209 of 566 for Hutchinson.
In the London headliner, Billam-Smith and Clarke renew a rivalry that began in the 2016 ABA Championships amateur final won by Clarke. Clarke, 35, won a silver medal at the 2017 European Championships and bronze at the 2018 Commonwealth Games before turning professional in 2022. He won his first 10 professional bouts and claimed the British cruiserweight title before suffering defeats against Leonardo Mosquea and Viddal Riley, subsequently winning two straight fights to reach 12 wins and two defeats. Billam-Smith holds a 22-2 record and previously reigned as European and Commonwealth champion before winning the WBO cruiserweight world title against Lawrence Okolie in 2023. After two successful defenses and a unification loss to Gilberto Ramirez in 2024, Billam-Smith has won his last two fights.
The fight week schedule for Manchester features open workouts on Wednesday, a news conference on Thursday at 13:00 GMT, and the weigh-in on Friday at 17:00 GMT, while the London card features a ceremonial weigh-in on Friday at 18:00 GMT.
