Joshua Buatsi: Anthony Yarde Fight Needs To Happen Sooner Rather Than Later
Feb 20, 2025
2 min read
Joshua Buatsi knows that no matter what happens on Saturday night, a fight with Brit rival Anthony Yarde has to happen. Buatsi (19-0, 13 KOs), faces Callum Smith (32-2, 22 KOs) on the Artur Beterbiev-Dmitry Bivol undercard this weekend in Riyadh, Saudi...
Joshua Buatsi knows that no matter what happens on Saturday night, a fight with Brit rival Anthony Yarde has to happen.
Buatsi (19-0, 13 KOs), faces Callum Smith (32-2, 22 KOs) on the Artur Beterbiev-Dmitry Bivol undercard this weekend in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The bout represents the toughest challenge of Buatsi's career so far as a professional, with Smith a former WBA/Ring super-middleweight champion.
As a pro, Buatsi has overcome every test that's come his way on the domestic scene, most recently against Willy Hutchinson (18-2, 13 KOs) on the Anthony Joshua-Daniel Dubois bill in September.
Before that, the 31-year-old also beat Dan Azeez (20-2-1, 13 KOs) and Craig Richards (18-4-1, 11 KOs) in headline bouts in the UK, and he's a two-time British champion at 175 pounds.
One could argue that Buatsi will be looking at a potential light-heavyweight title shot if he wins against Smith on Saturday, but in reality, David Benavidez (30-0, 24 KOs), who is set to be ringside for Beterbiev-Bivol, is next in line.
Win or lose, that leaves Buatsi looking for the next best opponent: Anthony Yarde (26-3, 24 KOs).
Buatsi vs. Yarde is a fight British boxing fans have pined after for years. Yarde is a two-time world title challenger, falling short against Beterbiev in 2023 and Sergey Kovalev in 2019.
But financially, Buatsi would be his biggest fight to date, and vice versa.
"For British fans definitely [that's my biggest fight]. It's one that needs to happen sooner rather than later," Buatsi told The Ring while nodding his head.
"The thing with the Yarde situation is, it's meant to have happened a few times, but he's had legal issues, I read recently he's gone back to Warren.
"He's had his stuff going on and I understand because I've been there before, so while he's got that going on, I'm going to keep active and fighting, and that's what I've done."
Yarde is also in action soon, on the first ever Ring Magazine card which is set to be headlined by Chris Eubank Jr vs. Conor Benn on April 26th at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London.
The 'Beast from the East' will face Lyndon Arthur in a trilogy rubber match.
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