Joshua Buatsi (born 14 March 1993) is a British

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional fights are supervised by a regulatory auth ...

. He held the

World Boxing Organization The World Boxing Organization (WBO) is an organization which sanctions professional boxing bouts. It is recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) as one of the four major world championship groups, alongside the World Boxing ...

(WBO) interim

light-heavyweight Light heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the division is above and up to , falling between super middleweight and cruiserweight (boxing), cruiserweight. The light heavyweight class has ...

title from 2024 to February 2025. At regional level, he has held the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

light-heavyweight title twice between 2019 and 2024; and the

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light-heavyweight title in 2024. As an

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

, he won a bronze medal at the 2015 European Championships and the

2016 Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

Early life

Buatsi was born on 14 March 1993 in

Accra Accra (; or ''Gaga''; ; Ewe: Gɛ; ) is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , had a population of ...

, Ghana. After his family moved to the UK, they resided in Monks Hill in Selsdon, South London. Buatsi studied at Edenham High School. Buatsi graduated with a 2:1 degree in Management with Sports Science from

St Mary's University, Twickenham St Mary's University, Twickenham is a public university in Strawberry Hill, Twickenham, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Its stated commitment is to the mission of the Catholic Church in higher education. History Originally foun ...

, while also competing as an amateur boxer.

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 Samsun is a List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, city on the north coast of Turkey and a major Black Sea port. The urban area recorded a population of 738,692 in 2022. The city is the capital of Samsun Province which has a population of ...

, Turkey, Buatsi defeated Ukraine's Oleksandr Khyzhniak in his semi-final and Dutch boxer Peter Müllenberg in the final of the

tournament to secure his place in Rio as part of the Great Britain team. At the 2016 Summer Olympics in the men's light-heavyweight competition, he defeated Elshod Rasulov of

Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...

with a third-round

knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, ...

, to progress to the quarter finals.

Professional career

Buatsi made his professional debut on 1 July 2017, when he fought Carlos Mena at

The O2 Arena The O2 Arena, commonly known as The O2, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the centre of The O2 entertainment district on the Greenwich Peninsula in southeast London, England. It opened in its present form in 2007. It has the third-highest seat ...

. 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 Anthony Oluwafemi Olaseni Joshua (born 15 October 1989) is a British professional boxer. He held the unified champion, unified world heavyweight championship twice between 2016 and 2021. At regional level, he held the British Boxing Board of C ...

vs. Carlos Takam at the Principality Stadium in

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

, 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 A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, a ...

in round three to claim the vacant British light-heavyweight title at the

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, England. In his US debut, on the Anthony Joshua vs. Andy Ruiz Jr. undercard at

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, 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. 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. On 15 May 2021, Buatsi fought Frenchman Daniel Dos Santos at the AO Arena in Manchester, winning by devastating knockout with a well-timed right hand in the fourth round. Buatsi followed this up by beating Ričards Bolotņiks with an eleventh round knock out as the main event on the final instalment of Matchroom Boxing's Fight Camp series. For the last two fights, Joshua has been under the tutelage of Virgil Hunter, the former trainer of

Andre Ward Andre Michael Ward (born February 23, 1984) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2004 to 2017. He retired with an undefeated record and held multiple world championships in two weight classes, including unified super ...

, with both of his most recent camps taking place at Virgil's gym in California. Buatsi won the

and

light-heavyweight titles with a unanimous decision win over defending champion Dan Azeez at

Wembley Arena Wembley Arena () (originally the Empire Pool, currently known as OVO Energy, OVO Arena Wembley for sponsorship reasons) is an indoor arena next to Wembley Stadium in Wembley, Greater London, England. The 12,500-seat facility is Greater Lond ...

on 3 February 2024. In his next fight, he became the WBO interim light-heavyweight champion thanks to a split decision win over Willy Hutchinson at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

on 21 September 2024. Buatsi twice knocked his opponent to the canvas before having his hand raised after two ringside judges scored the contest in his favour 117-108 and 115-110 respectively, while the third had it for Hutchinson 113-112. Buatsi lost the title and his unbeaten professional record when he was beaten via unanimous decision by fellow Briton

Callum Smith Callum John Smith (born 23 April 1990) is a British professional boxer. He has held the World Boxing Organization (WBO) interim light-heavyweight title since February 2025. Previously, he held the World Boxing Association (WBA) (Super versi ...

at The Venue Riyadh Season in

Riyadh Riyadh is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the Riyadh Governorate. Located on the eastern bank of Wadi Hanifa, the current form of the metropolis largely emerged in th ...

, Saudi Arabia, on 22 February 2025.

Outside the ring

Buatsi is managed by two-time world

heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Male boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 2 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation an ...

champion

. He also supports BoxWise, a UK-based non-profit

social enterprise A social enterprise is an organization that applies commercial strategies to maximize improvements in financial, social and environmental well-being. This may include maximizing social impact alongside profits for co-owners. Social enterprises ha ...

focused on boxing.

Professional boxing record

References

External links

*
Joshua Buatsi - Profile, News Archive & Current Rankings
a
Box.Live
* * * , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Buatsi, Joshua 1993 births Living people English male boxers Boxers from Accra Ghanaian emigrants to England People from Croydon Boxers from the London Borough of Croydon Boxers at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic boxers for Great Britain Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Black British sportsmen Olympic bronze medallists for Great Britain Olympic medalists in boxing Alumni of St Mary's University, Twickenham Boxers at the 2015 European Games European Games competitors for Great Britain Light-heavyweight boxers British Boxing Board of Control champions Commonwealth Boxing Council champions 21st-century English sportsmen