Joshua Buatsi

Joshua Buatsi (born 14 March 1993) is a British professional boxer who held the British light-heavyweight title in 2019. As an amateur, he won a bronze medal in the light-heavyweight division at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.[1]

Joshua Buatsi
Statistics
Nickname(s)Just Business
Weight(s)Light-heavyweight
Height6 ft 1 1⁄2 in (187 cm)
Reach74 1⁄2 in (189 cm)
NationalityBritish
Born (1993-03-14) 14 March 1993
Tema, Ghana
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights13
Wins13
Wins by KO11
Losses0
Medal record
Men's amateur boxing
Representing  Great Britain
Olympic Games
2016 Rio de JaneiroLight-heavyweight
European Championships
2015 SamokovLight-heavyweight
Representing  England
English National Championships
2013 London Light-heavyweight
2014 Liverpool Light-heavyweight
2015 Liverpool Light-heavyweight

Early life

Buatsi was born on 14 March 1993 in Accra, Ghana.[2] After his family moved to the UK, they resided in Croydon. Buatsi studied at Edenham High School. Buatsi graduated with a 2:1 degree in Management with Sports Science from St Mary's University, Twickenham, while also competing as an amateur boxer.[3]

Amateur career

Buatsi started his early boxing career at the South Norwood and Victory club, Charnwood Road, Crystal Palace, London, England. His trainer, Terry Smith, worked hard with Buatsi right up until he signed with Hearn's Matchroom Boxing. Mark Gillespie, the second coach at SNaV, followed Buatsi into the professional circuit both leaving their amateur roots.

At the 2016 European Boxing Olympic Qualification Tournament held in Samsun, Turkey, Buatsi defeated Ukraine's Oleksandr Khyzhniak in his semi-final and Dutch boxer Peter Müllenberg in the final of the light-heavyweight tournament to secure his place in Rio as part of the Great Britain team.[3][4]

At the 2016 Summer Olympics in the men's light-heavyweight competition, he defeated Elshod Rasulov of Uzbekistan with a third-round knockout, to progress to the quarter finals.[5]

Professional career

Early career

Buatsi made his professional debut on 1 July 2017, when he fought Carlos Mena at The O2 Arena. Buatsi won the fight by knockout in the second round. He next fought on 1 September against Baptiste Castegnaro, winning by knockout in the fifth round. On 28 October 2017, on the undercard of Anthony Joshua vs. Carlos Takam at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, Buatsi fought Saidou Sall in a six round bout, winning the bout 60-54.

Buatsi’s first fight of 2018 was against Jordan Joseph, he won the bout by stoppage in the second round after Joseph’s corner threw the towel in. He went on to defeat Bartlomiej Grafka 60-54 over six rounds on 31 March and Stephane Cuevas by knockout in the fifth round on the undercard of Tony Bellew vs. David Haye on 5 May.

On 23 March 2019, Buatsi defeated Liam Conroy via technical knockout in round three to claim the vacant British light-heavyweight title at the Copper Box Arena in London, England.

In his US debut, on the Anthony Joshua vs. Andy Ruiz Jr. undercard at Madison Square Garden, Buatsi defeated Mexican veteran and former title challenger Marco Antonio Peribán within four rounds. Buatsi first dropped his opponent, and after he got up, unleashed a flurry of shots at him, forcing the referee to stop the fight.[6]

In his next fight, Buatsi faced another veteran, Canadian Ryan Ford. Ford proved to be a good test for the young Buatsi, but in the end, Buatsi managed to get a seventh-round stoppage.[7]

Professional boxing record
Professional record summary
13 fights 13 wins 0 losses
By knockout 11 0
By decision 2 0
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
13 Win 13–0 Marko Calic TKO 7 (12), 2:09 4 Oct 2020 Marshall Arena, Milton Keynes, England Retained WBA International light-heavyweight title
12 Win 12–0 Ryan Ford KO 7 (10), 1:07 31 Aug 2019 The O2 Arena, London, England Retained WBA International light-heavyweight title
11 Win 11–0 Marco Antonio Peribán TKO 4 (10), 1:39 1 Jun 2019 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, US Retained WBA International light-heavyweight title
10 Win 10–0 Liam Conroy TKO 3 (12), 1:53 23 Mar 2019 Copper Box Arena, London, England Won vacant British light-heavyweight title
9 Win 9–0 Renold Quinlan TKO 1 (10), 1:50 22 Dec 2018 The O2 Arena, London, England Retained WBA International light-heavyweight title
8 Win 8–0 Tony Averlant TKO 1 (10), 2:53 13 Oct 2018 Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle, England Retained WBA International light-heavyweight title
7 Win 7–0 Andrejs Pokumeiko TKO 1 (10), 1:51 28 Jul 2018 The O2 Arena, London, England Won vacant WBA International light-heavyweight title
6 Win 6–0 Stephane Cuevas TKO 5 (8), 0:50 5 May 2018 The O2 Arena, London, England
5 Win 5–0 Bartlomiej Grafka PTS 6 31 Mar 2018 Principality Stadium, Cardiff, Wales
4 Win 4–0 Jordan Joseph TKO 2 (6), 2:43 3 Feb 2018 The O2 Arena, London, England
3 Win 3–0 Saidou Sall PTS 6 28 Oct 2017 Principality Stadium, Cardiff, Wales
2 Win 2–0 Baptiste Castegnaro TKO 5 (6), 1:06 1 Sep 2017 York Hall, London, England
1 Win 1–0 Carlos Mena TKO 2 (6), 1:19 1 Jul 2017 The O2 Arena, London, England

References
  1. "Rio 2016: Great Britain and Northern Ireland's Olympic team". BBC Sport. 26 April 2016. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  2. "Joshua Buatsi – 81KG". AIBA. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  3. Young, Benjamin. "Boxing: Next stop Brazil for Croydon's Buatsi". Wandsworth Guardian. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  4. "Olympic boxing: Nicola Adams among eight British qualifiers for Rio 2016". BBC Sport. 15 April 2016. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  5. "Rio Olympics 2016: GB's Joshua Buatsi into quarters with 'stunning upset' knockout". BBC Sport. 11 August 2016. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
  6. Christ, Scott (1 June 2019). "Joshua Buatsi stops Marco Antonio Periban in fourth round". Bad Left Hook. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  7. Christ, Scott (31 August 2019). "Joshua Buatsi knocks out Ryan Ford in seventh round". Bad Left Hook. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
Sporting positions
Regional boxing titles
Vacant
Title last held by
Erik Skoglund		 WBA International light-heavyweight champion
28 July 2018 – present		 Incumbent
Vacant
Title last held by
Callum Johnson		 British light-heavyweight champion
23 March 2019 – September 2019
Vacated		 Vacant
Title next held by
Shakan Pitters
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