Light-heavyweight contender Willy Hutchinson has joined up with trainer Shane McGuigan as he bids to bounce back from his September defeat to Joshua Buatsi.

The 26-year-old was dropped twice en route to a split decision loss to Buatsi for the WBO interim title at Wembley Stadium in September, leaving him 18-2 (13).

The switch-hitter from Carstairs, Scotland, who also spent time under Dominic Ingle, was trained by Mirko Wolf for that encounter but he has now joined up with McGuigan at his east London gym.

Incidentally, it was Mcguigan who was in the opposite corner for Hutchinson’s most recent victory, when the Scot beat Craig Richards on points at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh in June last year.

But Richards has since left the McGuigan’s Gym and returned to Essex in order to work with Tony Sims at the Matchroom Gym, which left the door open for Hutchinson.

And he joins one of the most successful gyms in the country, with the likes of former world cruiserweight champion Chris Billam-Smith, unified super-bantamweight champion Ellie Scotney, WBC lightweight champion Caroline Dubois and rising star Adam Azim all currently working under McGuigan in Leyton.

“This is going to be special,” Hutchinson wrote on Instagram. “I’m now being trained by Shane McGuigan. I’ll be having fight news coming at the end of this week. Time to get those world titles.”

McGuigan added: “Buckle up, this is going to be a frightening combination.”