Interviews
Any flaw in Ricards Bolotnik’s security, and I’ll take him down
Joshua Buatsi says any Ricards Bolotniks show of weakness will be decisively exploited when the teams clash in Brentwood on Saturday.
Buatsi (14-0, 12 KO) meets Bolotniki (18-5-1, 8 KO) in a WBA delicate heavyweight title eliminator, concluding the third and final week of Fight Camp at Matchroom HQ, live on DAZN.
The 2016 Olympic bronze medalist knocked out Joshua Dos Santos in four rounds in May, extending his perfect unbeaten record to 14, and the Londoner insists he will display a ruthless finishing instinct if a scenario arises that allows him to win at the distance.
“I can’t wait, it’s been a while since I’ve boxed in front of fans, so this will be great.” The 28-year-old told Matchroom Boxing.
“It’s a main event against a good opponent, we’re both high in the rankings, we’re both on winning streaks and we believe we’ll win. I will be there every round and if I sense any weakness on the Bolotniks’ part, the game is over, I will eliminate him.
“It’s boxing, outside the ring be frosty, be composed, be nice, but inside the ring you handle things. When I fight, I have to put everything on the line because people say, “Joshua Buatsi is a nice guy,” but if I boxed nicely, they wouldn’t care.
“If you’re an crucial figure who’s raucous and talks trash, the performance doesn’t really matter in a way, but I’m not like that, so I realize my performances have to talk about that.”
Buatsi, who weighed 1743/4 pounds at Friday’s weigh-in, is fighting for the second time under the supervision of a highly respected trainer, Virgil Hunter, who moved to the USA before his last appearance.
Bolotniks, who tipped the scales a little lighter and amounted to 1741/2 lbs, won the MTK Gold Contract after a tenth-round stoppage of Serge Michel, beating Steven Ward and JB’s compatriot Hosea Burton en route to the final.
Buatsi claims he only saw brief moments Latvians success in the tournament and instead tries to improve his game rather than focusing on his opponents.
“People asked me to step up and here we are,” Buatsi said.
“I know what I have to do, and if things get tough, I still know what I have to do. I’ve covered all the bases in camp so I’m ready, so tune in and you’ll see.
“It’s part of the game and I understand that. It’s a compliment that people want to see me compete better. It’s natural that people want to see it and it will be next in line, so it’s up to me to deal with it.
“I saw him boxing in the Golden Contract final, but it was only one round and part of it against Hosei Burton and that was it.
“I’ve always said it’s about improving myself as a player and taking into account all aspects of myself, and when I do that, I feel like I can do it with anyone who steps in front of me.”
The host favorite is defending his international WBA crown for the seventh time and is close to fighting for the world title, which, according to the governing authorities, is in second place, while the guest is the third-ranked contender.
A shot against WBA “Super” champion Dmitry Bivol could await the winner while the “Regular” belt is empty and Buatsi hopes to fight again before the end of the year.
“We were targeting three fights this year, in May, August and winter,” Buatsi added.
“So the stakes are high but I’ll go into the fight with whoever the team puts in front of me, that’s up to them, as long as I prepare I’ll be fine because once you get in the ring there’s no going back.
“It’s a very threatening sport, so you have to make sure you play it.”
Natasha Jonas unified the welterweight division by defeating Ivana Habazin by clear points on Saturday to add the WBC title to her IBF crown at the Exhibition Center in Liverpool.
Jonas (16-2-1, 9 KO) was last seen defending her title in January in a hard-fought split decision over Mikaela Mayer, while Habazin (23-6, 7 KO) won the vacant WBC welterweight title in her home country. time out, winning by wide points over Kinga Magyar.
After a technical opening round, Jonas settled into a steady rhythm before landing a powerful right hand in the fourth round that crushed Habazin.
There was a rivalry, but the home favorite was much better in the rallies and seemed to be losing round after round.
This situation lasted until the final bell, when Jonas became the winner by scores of 100-90, 99-91 and 99-92.
Price is closing in on Jonas’ match
Lauren Price definitely stayed on as a collision course with Jonas and easily defended her WBA and IBO welterweight titles after a third-round fight against Bexcy Mateus.
Mateus (7-1, 6 KO) was on board in the first round, after the Welshman landed a powerful left hand, and the Colombian struggled to match Price’s speed.
The same shot caused the 29-year-old to repeat the punch in the second round, and the round later ended when another stinging left hand stunned Meteus and she fell to the canvas, after which the fight was stopped.
Price (8-0, 2 KO) has agreed to face Jonas next, and promoter Ben Shalom revealed it could be announced next week.
Knife edge passes McKenna
Lee Cutler scored an upset victory to claim the silver WBC International welterweight title after winning a majority decision against Stephen McKenna.
McKenna (15-1, 14 KO) was eliminated in the first round, his knee touching the canvas after being tagged, and Cutler (15-1, 7 KO) took full advantage of his opponent’s weakness in the seventh round when his right hand plunged into his knee. The Irishman who ultimately fell once again.
McKenna was relentless in his attacks and landed a huge number of punches.
The balance of 94-94 was surpassed by the scores of 95-93 and 96-92, which ensured the victory for Cutler.
Jeffers stopped Quartey
Mark Jeffers is on track for large fights in 2025 after defeating Joshua Quartey to defend his silver Commonwealth super middleweight title.
A pair of right hands put Quartey (10-1, 9 KO) on the board, and although he broke the count, a well-placed body shot after the restart by Jeffers (19-0, 6 KO) blew the guy away again.
A crazy attack after the restart forced a stoppage.
Riley secures Chamberlain’s face-off with a stoppage
Viddal Riley finished the heavyweight fight and stopped Dan Garber in the second of the scheduled six rounds.
Riley (12-0, 7 KO) hit Garber (7-4, 2 KO) with his right hand, and then his next attack forced the referee’s intervention.
Riley’s next match will be against Isaac Chamberlain on February 1.
Undercard remaining
Mason Cartwright (21-4-1, 8 KO) won all six rounds at super welterweight against Dzmitry Atrokhau (16-25, 7 KO), and Hope lightweight Frankie Stringer (9-0, 1 KO) did the same in the fight against Tatenda Mangombe (3-9-1).
In the flyweight division, Mikie Tallon (6-0) defeated Benn Norman (7-7) with a body shot in the first round of the match, and then settled for a 59-54 victory.
The only fighter to fight four rounds in the super featherweight division was Mason Devine (6-0, 1 KO), who won every session against Jayo Fernando Duran (15-34-1, 14 KO).
Dillian Whyte has revealed his predictions for the hotly anticipated rematch between Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury on December 21.
Fury, who knocked out Whyte at Wembley Stadium in 2022, will seek revenge for the only defeat of his career in just 11 days, after losing to Usyk by split decision earlier this year.
Despite losing the night, “The Gypsy King” was a major success and many are struggling to pick a winner in his second battle against the imperious Ukrainian.
Some experts believe Fury needs to be more aggressive and take the lead if he is to win.
I’m talking to Social boxingWhyte revealed he shared that view, asking the Morecambe man to return to the game plan that saw him destroy Deontay Wilder in the return leg.
“It’s a great fight, man, I’m still trying to think – how will this fight go?
“Okay, Fury can make changes, but Usyk can make changes too. It’s a tough fight, a very, very tough fight for both fighters.
“If I were Fury’s coach, I would tell him he has to play aggressively.
“Fight him like you fought Wilder the second time.
“Bring back the aggression, bring back the tyrant!
“This is heavyweight boxing – you never know.”
It is unclear whether Fury will heed the advice of Whyte and others in the boxing world who have advised him to take the fight to Usyk, but looks noticeably heavier than before the first fight.
What are the changes? ❌@Tyson_Fury says he will exploit exactly the same game plan as the first time when he faces Oleksandr Usyk at the end of the month.
Thinks? 🧐 pic.twitter.com/VtpEwLJkWx
— Professional boxing fans (@ProBoxingFans) December 6, 2024
Win or lose, the 36-year-old could face a long-awaited home fight against Anthony Joshua, even though “A.J.” interrupted defeat against Daniel Dubois in September.
While it may not have been as great a spectacle as it once was, a clash between Joshua and Fury would still be by far the biggest all-British fight in recent memory.
As for Whyte, he returns to the ring next Sunday night and will face Ghanaian heavyweight Ebenezer Tetteh live on DAZN in Gibraltar.
The All-American fight between lightweight world champions Gervonta Davis and Shakur Stevenson is one of the most anticipated fights in all of boxing.
Both Davis and Stevenson are undefeated multi-weight champions and are staples on any respected pound-for-pound list.
With this in mind, you could be forgiven for assuming that the pair locking corners in their prime years is a given, but that doesn’t seem likely to happen in the near future.
“Tank” spoke to the media at the press conference inaugurating his performance March 1 fight with Lamont Roach, and when the prospect of fighting Stevenson arose, he didn’t seem particularly interested.
The Baltimore hitter even went so far as to question what his compatriot did to deserve him.
“What for? Who has Shakur [beat]? What did Shakur do?
“What has he achieved in sports? He didn’t do anything! Juvenile people look better than him!”
“Keyshawn [Davis] you look so much better than that nigga! Shout it out nigga, he ain’t done nothing!
I asked Gervonta about a possible fight with Shakur… #Box #TankRoach pic.twitter.com/T1eNFJ9iIO
— Dwa O Dwa Z.. (@Noo_Barzz) December 3, 2024
“Why the hell are you saying his name?”
Like Davis, Stevenson will also return to action in the first quarter of next year, fighting against up-and-comer Floyd Schofield on the February 22 Riyad season card.
The Newark southpaw has been sidelined since his July decision victory over Artem Harutyunyan after he had to withdraw from a proposed October fight with Joe Cordina due to injury.
Saudi boxing boss Turki Alalshikh has expressed his willingness to have a fight between the two virtuosos, provided both are successful in their upcoming fights.
‼️ His Excellency Turki Alalshikh stated that he wants the Gervonta Davis vs Shakur Stevenson fight: “My plan for Shakur is this fight [vs Floyd Schofield]then William Zepeda, and then let’s see if Tank wants to come on our show.” [@DAZNBoxing] pic.twitter.com/Mmi6hO7Fjo
— Michael Benson (@MichaelBenson) December 3, 2024
While he undoubtedly has the talent to rival Davis, Stevenson is not as commercial a star as his rival, and some critics believe he needs to start giving more entertaining performances if he wants to get substantial names.
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