Hutchinson Avenges Buatsi Loss to Win WBC Light-Heavyweight Title

Willy Hutchinson is a world champion at last. The 28-year-old from Carstairs, Scotland, outboxed Joshua Buatsi over 12 rounds at the AO Arena in Manchester on Saturday, 7 November, winning a unanimous decision and the vacant WBC light-heavyweight title. The judges scored the rematch 117-112, 115-113 and 115-113, handing Buatsi the second defeat of his professional career and completing a revenge mission two years in the making. Hutchinson, who improved his record to 21 wins and two defeats, with 14 knockouts, broke down in tears as the decision was announced, while Buatsi, now 20-2 with 13 knockouts, stood in quiet disappointment at the centre of the ring.

A rematch two years in the making

The two men had met before, and the first fight explained everything about the second. Buatsi won their September 2024 meeting by split decision on the undercard of Daniel Dubois' IBF heavyweight defence against Anthony Joshua at Wembley, dropping Hutchinson twice along the way. That defeat stayed with Hutchinson, and he spoke before the rematch about a destiny he had chased since he first set out to win the famous green and gold WBC belt at the age of 13. On Saturday night in Manchester, that long pursuit finally ended with a world title around his waist. The belt had been vacant after David Benavidez gave it up last month to continue his career at cruiserweight, and the contest had initially been billed for the interim title before being upgraded to the full championship. Hutchinson seized the opportunity with the performance of his career, becoming the eighth British light-heavyweight world champion and the first since Nathan Cleverly in 2017.

How Hutchinson controlled the fight

Hutchinson fought the rematch on his own terms from the opening bell. Working off the back foot, he used his jab and slick footwork to stay out of range, picking Buatsi off with single shots while the Londoner struggled to close the distance. Buatsi, the 2016 Olympic bronze medallist, targeted the body whenever he could get close, but he looked sluggish for long stretches and his punches too often found only air. The pattern held through the middle rounds, with Buatsi more active but less accurate, and Hutchinson refusing to abandon a game plan that was clearly working. Buatsi finally let his hands go in the eleventh round, chasing the stoppage he suddenly needed, and he pressed hard again in the twelfth. Hutchinson's trainer ordered him to stick and move for the final three minutes, and the Scotsman did exactly that, holding when he had to and keeping Buatsi at the end of his jab until the final bell.

When the scorecards were read, there was no real doubt about the winner, even if the margins told the story of a competitive fight. Two judges had it 115-113 and the third 117-112, all for Hutchinson, rewarding his cleaner work and superior movement over Buatsi's late pressure. The result reversed the only previous meeting between the pair and settled a rivalry that had simmered since their amateur days. It also underlined how far Hutchinson has come since that first defeat. He returned to winning ways with a unanimous decision over Ezra Taylor in Manchester in March, and he has now rebuilt himself into a world champion, while Buatsi must regroup after a second defeat in 22 professional fights. Buatsi had previously lost only to Callum Smith, in February 2025, and he beat Zach Parker by majority decision in November 2025 before stepping back into a world title fight.

What comes next for the new champion

Hutchinson did not wait long to name his preferred next step. After the fight he set his sights on an all-British meeting with former title challenger Anthony Yarde, a fight that would keep his first defence at home and in front of a large audience. The wider light-heavyweight picture is busy: Russia's Dmitry Bivol, the WBA, WBO, IBF and Ring Magazine champion, is due to defend his titles against Britain's Callum Smith in Yekaterinburg on 12 December, and unification talk will inevitably follow Hutchinson's win. For now, though, the new champion can enjoy the moment he waited half his life to reach. Scotland has a new world champion, and Hutchinson earned the title the hard way, by beating the man who had beaten him.

The undercard at the AO Arena, promoted by Queensberry Promotions and shown live on DAZN, also delivered. Jack Rafferty stayed unbeaten with a unanimous decision over Hovhannes Martirosyan in their 12-round welterweight contest, scoring a knockdown in the final round as Martirosyan went through the ropes. Bradley Rea stopped Ezra Taylor in the second round of their light-heavyweight bout, the referee stepping in at 58 seconds after Taylor had already been knocked down. Gully Powar won the British featherweight title with a technical decision over Zak Miller, the fight stopped in the tenth round after a ringside physician ruled Miller unable to continue because of severe swelling across his forehead.