For all his talent and likeability, so far it hasn’t quite clicked for Joshua Buatsi as a pro. Though he has won fights, and worn belts, the Olympic bronze medallist has yet to find a home or produce that one breakthrough performance to suggest a world title is within his capabilities.
Last time out, against Callum Smith, he showed he could be entertaining and give fans what they want to see, only the fight itself ended in defeat for Buatsi – his first as a pro. Even on that night, when proving so many people wrong, Buatsi still couldn’t quite get it right. He had never been more exciting to watch as a pro, but had now suffered his first loss, albeit a close one.
Now, eight months on, he prepares to start again in a November 1st fight against Zach Parker. He has also chosen to rebuild with the backing of a new promoter, hoping the tweak will make it all click. No longer with Boxxer/Sky Sports, Buatsi has since moved to Queensberry Promotions, which signals a return to DAZN, the app on which Buatsi once boxed when under the Matchroom Boxing banner. In those days Buatsi seemed rather dismissive of the app and its limitations and believed he needed to be seen and promoted on television – namely, Sky Sports – to really get the most out of his career and his earning potential. Now, though, things are slightly different. Now, not only have DAZN increased the number of events they show and the number of promoters with whom they work, but Buatsi, very much a nomad, is fast running out of doors on which to knock.
“This is my first one after the loss to Smith and I’m looking forward to it,” he said at a press conference this afternoon. “I think it was turning a new leaf in terms of who you are going to go with. I chose to come with George [Warren] and the team.
“I feel like I need to win. I’ve never put on myself that pressure you guys [the media] put on the fighters, but that’s because I put on the pressure myself. Pressure from the external doesn’t matter to me because I put a lot of pressure on myself. The thing to do here is win.”
His next opponent, Zach Parker, is someone with whom Buatsi is familiar due to the pair having fought in the amateur ranks. That was a fight Buatsi won, though he admits to seeing no real significance in either the result or indeed what he remembers of it.
In addition, Buatsi stressed today that the decision to fight Parker on November 1 was not his. Instead, he is at the stage now where he is happy just to be fighting regularly and willing to fight whoever is lined up for him. In this instance that means Parker, a former British super-middleweight champion who will start the fight with Buatsi as an underdog.
“He was just put in front of me and that’s who I need to deal with,” said Buatsi, 19-1 (13 KOs). “In terms of the underdog mentality, it’s a good mentality to have. I’ve carried that for many years and I still carry that because some people think that’s it, it’s a wrap, he’s never coming back. So it’s important for me to prove I can bounce back from a loss and I will show that on November 1st.
“This [Parker] is someone who is hungry and someone I fought in the amateurs. Even though he says I am one [win] up, I don’t see it like that. Whenever you fight someone who’s hungry, it’s a dangerous fight. I need to go in there and show I am hungrier than you are. It’s all about food. Who is going to eat? On November 1st we find out.”
Now 32, Buatsi isn’t just hungry for food, he’s hungry for attention, recognition, and respect. As highlighted in boxing news tonight, he knows these things don’t simply come to a fighter when they turn professional, Olympic medal or not. Instead, they are rewards a fighter must earn in the pro ranks—though some scavengers will always find them easier to locate than others.
Only when they are found of course does a rumbling stomach finally settle down.
