Willy Hutchinson admits everything is on the line ahead of his crucial clash with Mark Jeffers on Saturday.

Both fighters are coming off losses, and Hutchinson thinks defeat for either will see their stock plummet catastrophically. 

Hutchinson has not boxed in more than a year, having lost a decision to Joshua Buatsi in Wembley Stadium last September.

Hutchinson has been in Malaga, Spain, training with Miko Wolf, who he has reunited with following a spell training with Shane McGuigan.

“I was with Shane for a little bit, a great coach and everyone in the gym was very good to me,” said Hutchinson. “It’s just I wasn’t feeling it for myself and I was getting down, very, very down.

“Then I pulled my shoulder out and it worked its way back to being here, where I’m happy. 

“It’s the relationship I have with my coach more than anything. Because if it wasn’t for that I probably wouldn’t have come back, you know? And I remember asking myself, ‘Where was I most happiest?’ My most happiest is when I was here and we were here and it’s very, very tough.

“I’ve got a wife that’s at home. I’ve seen them four times in the past five months or whatever it’s been and been not eating very much, dieting, training, sleeping but I’ve had time for myself and I’m in a very, very good place.”

He also has plenty of respect for Jeffers taking the fight.

“I’ve got to say fair play to Mark Jeffers because he’s coming up from super middleweight to fight me, he’s a massive super middleweight. This is his natural weight at light heavy so I’ve got massive respect for him because I had five opponents in the top ten not one… I had five that we were supposed to fight and every one of them wouldn’t box so for a man to come up [in weight] and have the thing of, he’s fighting me because he thinks he can beat me, he’s got my respect definitely.

“I think if people was more like Mark Jeffers boxing world would be a lot better in the light heavyweights.”

It might not have been too long ago when a previously-undefeated fighter like Jeffers returned with a warm up fight and certainly took a contest or two to adjust to the new weight class.

“A hundred per cent, yeah,” agreed the Scot who believes that with them both coming off losses, their position is equally precarious.

But Hutchinson has not studied Jeffers’ loss to Sean Hemphill, although he is familiar with Jeffers having sparred him years ago. “I know how good the lad is,” Hutchinson added.

“He’s got everything to lose because when I knock him out where does he go from that, you know? And I know they’re going to say he’s moved up to light heavyweight but that lad’s a big super middle. He probably can’t make super middleweight ever again and I’m only speaking the honest truth. He’s got everything to lose. He’s got more to lose than anybody, you know? 

“So say I do a job on him, then what? You know what I mean? It’s not once, it’s twice. In a way we both have something to lose. I’ve got everything to lose, he’s got everything to lose.

“You know, the winner goes on, the loser unfortunately goes to do what he’s going to do.”

Hutchinson is the WBC’s No. 8 light heavyweight contender, and the 27-year-old from Carstairs in Scotland covets a rematch with Buatsi over any other fight.

And with Frank Warren promoting much of the top talent in Britain at light heavyweight, Hutchinson has welcomed the idea of a tournament where the leading lights all fight one another.

“I would love it; wouldn’t it be good for light heavyweights to have a tournament? Like 10 of us… Frank can have his own one. He can have his own tournament if he wants, he’s got his own.”

Warren is promoting the light heavyweight card on November 1 topped by Joshua Buatsi-Zach Parker, on a bill that also includes Bradley Rea-Lyndon Arthur and Liam Cameron-Troy Jones. Warren also promotes Anthony Yarde, who faces David Benavidez in November, and having fought world title challengers Craig Richards and Joshua Buatsi in his last two fights, Hutchinson maintains his belief that he belongs at boxing’s top table.

“I believed I belonged a long time ago,” he said. “Them fights, listen, the Buatsi one, it was just a day, it wasn’t for me and it just wasn’t my day. And that’s life, it’s part and parcel of it. It was a tough pill to swallow. But obviously it’s experience that I’ve took from it. Then, a year on, now I believe definitely it’s done me the world of good.

“I believe I [can] beat these men, even Buatsi. Like listen, once I get the job done on the 4th of October, that’s my first option, please, God, and it can happen, is get my rematch and put that one right. Really, put that one right.”

Hutchinson admits he went into a period of soul-searching after losing to Buatsi and that he didn’t take it well.

He had been riding high after his resounding victory over Richards in Saudi Arabia, and the Buatsi defeat snapped his momentum.

Buatsi put Hutchinson over twice in their Wembley fight, and won a split decision.

“Until recently I’ve been very naïve,” Hutchinson added. “I’m still like a kid now but I was a lot more of a kid last year when I do think about myself because I do take it hard because this man [Buatsi] should never ever beat me. And also I’m very hard on myself, but it’s part and parcel of life. And this is where I’ve come to, this is life, this is reality, unfortunately. Sometimes maybe good, sometimes maybe shit! It’s like that, isn’t it? My personal self is worth more than anything, the rest is just a bonus. I’m very, very happy in my personal self. So I’m very dangerous as well at the same time.”

The top of the division has been held up by the two excellent fights between Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev. The latter boxes in Saudi in November, but Bivol has the belts after winning their second fight.

However, Hutchinson does not subscribe to the popular belief that the Russians are clearly numbers one and two in the division.

“Of course not,” he said. “They’re just making it into that. They’re making it into that that they’re the top two. I think Benavidez beats the two of them. I genuinely do. I think David Morrell could beat the two of them. Could. He has the potential. There’s three or four of them there. And I can assure you one thing, Anthony Yarde definitely can’t beat them. And he’s fighting Benavidez. But I believe I can beat them. You know, I believe they’re making it out to be that them two are the best, which the two of them are unbelievable, there’s no question about that. But they’re not the only two that’s unbelievable.”

Domestically, too, Hutchinson is aware of the rise of former Olympian Ben Whittaker and knows that if he is to get to world level Whittaker will have to go through someone like him.

“Yes, 100 per cent,” Hutchinson admitted. “But, you know, he would be better going to Misfits and boxing on there, if you want my honest opinion. Well done to him winning his Olympic silver. I’ve got no hatred or anything towards this lad. But unless people don’t see what I see, boxing is not for him, I believe. And he would have to go. He wouldn’t get to me because someone would get him before he gets to me. I’ll be world champion when he gets found out. You know, it’s only a matter of time for him. He’d be better moving up to cruiserweight and he would have more of a chance of becoming world champion than he would light heavyweight.”

Whittaker has been inactive since his crushing rematch win over Liam Cameron, which came after just a few weeks in camp with new coach Andy Lee.

“He’ll get found out before he gets anywhere near me. And if he doesn’t, I’ll box him in my next fight, no problem.”

Of course, Jeffers comes first for Hutchinson and the Scot believes they sparred about seven years ago, maybe sharing six or eight rounds.

“A long time ago,” said Hutchinson. “But he’s good. He is good.”

Hutchinson, of course, is looking to get back to winning ways and give himself and his wife a better life. He has recently bought his first house, on the England-Scotland border at Carlisle, and his wife is eagerly awaiting his return. She won’t be at the arena on fight night.

“She’ll be waiting on me getting home,” Hutchinson explained. “I don't want it [her to attend]. For me, it’s like a life and death thing, really, isn’t it? And I don’t want to be thinking, ‘where’s my wife?’ You know what I mean? I don’t care who you are. Your wife’s in the back of your head. You’re thinking, ‘oh, is she alright?’ It’s not for me. She can sit at home and wait for me to come back.”

He and his wife met in London, but have known each other almost their entire lives. Willy was best friends with two of her sisters and they met at London’s Winter Wonderland one year.

“And I said to my cousin, ‘If you can get her to go out with me, I'll marry her.’ Two years later, I ended up marrying her.”

Hutchinson also goes back years with Saturday’s bill-topper Nathaniel Collins.

“I’ve known Nathaniel since I've been 10 years old,” Hutchinson smiled. “We were both on the squad in Scotland. I’ve known him all of my life. I’m so happy for him. He’s doing very well. I’ve rated a lot of good lads and a lot of lads dropped out or done this or never followed through and he did. And I’m so happy for him. And he’s good enough to do it.”

And while Saturday is set up as a coronation of sorts for Collins, provided he can claim the European title, Hutchinson has no envy of Collins or his career progression. The show is billed as The Next King of Scotland, with a vacancy at the top of the tree following the retirement of Josh Taylor earlier this year. Hutchinson has no desire to be the next one to carry the flag ahead of anyone else.

“I'm not really interested in becoming the... Nathaniel can become the next one of that,” he added. “I’m genuinely just interested in becoming world champion, undisputed, king of the ring and being happy. I’m not interested in being the king of Britain or the king of whatever.

“Yeah. Nathaniel Collins can have that and it's his. Good. And he’s good. And I think I have big respect for Nathaniel.” 

Hutchinson knows that there will be little talk about being the king of anything if he notches a second consecutive loss. Instead, he will be left with a precarious rebuild and wondering where he can go from there.