When Willy Hutchinson steps into the ring at Wembley Stadium in London to fight Joshua Buatsi, he will do so fueled by memories of his recent battle with suicidal thoughts.

In just six months, his career has been transformed. On September 21, in what will be his biggest fight against the universally admired Buatsi, Hutchinson will likely be considered Buatsi’s most perilous opponent.

In March, after spending a period rebuilding his career following a surprise 2021 loss to Lennox Clarke, Hutchinson returned to contention for a huge fight by stopping Martin Houben. He was rewarded in June when he faced Craig Richards – who gave Buatsi his toughest fight of 2022 – and responded as an underdog by handing Richards his most convincing defeat.

There’s no getting around the fact that it was none other than Dmitry Bivol, who will fight Artur Beterbiev for the undisputed lithe heavyweight title on October 12, who dealt Richards the first of three defeats, but the perspective Hutchinson gained from his loss to Clarke just two months earlier means that, for him, the defeat has become almost irrelevant.

The 25-year-old Scot lost out in the boxing ring because he had almost completely lost his way in life. Lacking purpose and direction, despite a natural talent that in 2016 made him the first from his country to win gold at the amateur world championships – he had previously won the European junior championships in 2014 – there was also a time when he thought his career was over.

Hutchinson prepares for the 31-year-old Buatsi in a gym near Malaga, Spain. His presence there is likely the first in a series of unexpected events that have put him and his opponent on the road to a fight; if it weren’t for the collapse of Buatsi’s plans to fight Anthony Yarde, Hutchinson’s victory over Richards would not have been enough.

“I was on the verge of not wanting to be here,” he tells BoxingScene. “I had personal issues in my life. Finally, there came a time in my life when I didn’t want to box ever again. That was about three years ago. I didn’t want to box ever again – I was a retired veteran.

“I had some personal problems in my personal life. I got a call from a little guy named Mirko Wolf [my trainer] who sat next to me, who saved my life, and here I am today. The little man who I thought would never call me, called me and took me to Spain and since then I have never looked back.

“I got off the plane, walked past the gym, exhaled through my mouth and said, ‘Man, I feel better already,’ and I’ve never looked back since. That’s the truthful truth. Being home [was part of the problem].To be at home [Carstairs].To be a youthful, stupid boy with a pot full of money and nowhere to go.

“Waking up at three in the morning; going to bed at five in the morning. Nothing to wake up for. Stupid personal problems; there are many things that can put you in a bad place. It’s all in God’s hands, right? God is great. God is great, my brother.”

The reference to God was just one indication that Hutchinson, for all his progress, had not only not forgotten what he had suffered but also how much it had changed him. The devastating defeat he inflicted on Clarke in the British and Commonwealth titles brought another.

It was only recently that he might have reconsidered how breakable every fighter’s career is. Joe Joyce’s career is beyond repair in the wake of his defeat to Derek Chisora; he and Hutchinson made their professional debuts for the same organisation in October 2017, when Joyce’s victory over Ian Lewison – who had to be helped off the stage after suffering injuries sustained by Joyce and who has not fought since – was the main event.

“The reality is I should have beaten that guy with my eyes closed and hopping on one leg, and that’s the truthful truth,” Hutchinson says. “It should have happened, but listen, this is boxing, man. This is boxing; it happens. Anything can happen, man.

“Look, it happens, right? People make mistakes; I make more mistakes than anyone in the world. You know, I make more mistakes than anyone, so that’s one of them – you just have to take it on the chest and move on.

“The only motivation I have right now, brother, is to beat Buatsi and then look to the future, you know what I mean?

“I really couldn’t care less [about people having me an underdog against Richards]. I’ve never really looked at the outsider influence, you know? I mean, look at Joe Joyce and Chisora. You know what I mean? It’s crazy. But if you believe in yourself enough, none of that matters, right?

“The secret, I think, is that I’m elated with myself and I enjoy what I do. Obviously, everybody has their ups and downs, and I think I’m very elated and I’m in a very good place, and if you’re in a good place mentally, the rest is uncomplicated, man – the rest is just enjoying it. Have fun – there’s no point in doing this whole camping thing and then, like, I’m away from home for six months and then – you know what I mean? You might as well enjoy it.

“The ups and downs – even in you, they don’t have to be nothing. That’s just your mind wondering, right? You have good people in your life and you bring it back to where you need to be.

“I think I’m more mature now than I was a year ago. If you could have seen me a year ago and seen where I am now, I think I’ve matured a lot more and I know what’s in front of me, you know what I mean? Sometimes you can sit there and think, ‘Man, this is a million miles away, what’s going on here?’ I just won the title and it seems so far away, but it’s really just on the tip of your finger – you just don’t know until it falls over.”

“The physical part has always been there. I’ve always been mighty as an ox since I was 10, you know what I mean? The physical part – that’s more in you. For me, the mentality was the biggest part of it all. You see, if I’m elated, I can beat anyone. There’s no other person I can’t beat. That’s my truthful truth and I really, from the bottom of my heart, believe that. You know what I mean? It’s perilous. Physically, I’ve always been physically that mighty.

“[It’s] It’s kind of demanding to explain, but it’s just within me. I think it has a lot to do with maturing as a person – as a man – you know?”

Hutchinson’s struggles to explain prompted the intervention of his coach Mirko Wolf, who – sounding much like his player – said: “Brother, I was very worried because, I mean, as he told you, he was in a bad place in every way. Not just in the sport; personally; like in the family. There are some stories that come with that that could make anyone unhappy – not just Willy. Anyone. And sometimes it’s just good to have good people who are really trying to aid you.”

“And it wasn’t about business or anything like that – it was just a friend helping a friend. And like I said, at that point I didn’t care if it was boxing or not. I want this guy to be good, because he’s got a pure heart. And he’s a good guy; he’s a good person; a good person. And as Willie put it, it’s settled down over the last few years when we were here in Spain – he’s just in a good place.

“He’s super stable and every time he stepped into the ring he raised his game. And that’s why in the fight with Buatsi you’ll see even a different animal and we’re just super relaxed – super – As I said.

“You know today, right? You’re talking to me on the phone, and I’m talking to you – how close do you think it’s going to get to me not coming back to that house?

“When you have your lows in life, every time you take it and you take it on the chin, you have two options – you either give up or you grow up. You take it as a lesson and you grow up. Willy has chosen to learn from it, he will grow up and fulfill his destiny, which is to be the best on planet Earth in this sport, and we are very close to that.”

“It’s like it’s right there, within reach, isn’t it? Yes, God willing. Everything – like the whole world saw what Willie was all about on September 21st.”

Is there a chance that Buatsi, so eager for a richer and more prestigious fight with his London colleague Yarde, is ignoring him?

“No, he’s not underestimating me – trust me,” Hutchinson says. “If there’s anything, that man will be far from watching over me. He knows. He’s not stupid. But Yarde would be an easier fight for him. And that’s the truthful truth.

“You have to look at it. I’ve seen a lot of Yarde. Yarde had three or four of the toughest fights of his life.

Yarde has the fighting spirit now, and Buatsi – well, it will all come out on September 21st, right? Yes, I have [think Buatsi would have beaten Yarde].

“Buatsi is good. He’s a good, mighty fighter, but he’s just like Craig Richards. And I said that about Craig Richards and I’ll say that about Buatsi – I’m going to knock them out completely.”