Willy Hutchinson was crowned the WBC light-heavyweight champion after he produced the performance of his career to beat Joshua Buatsi in Manchester. Hutchinson, 28, edged the tense rematch with the judges scoring it 117-112, 115-113, 115-113 to avenge his defeat by Buatsi in 2024. Saturday's contest was initially for the interim title but was upgraded when American David Benavidez gave up the WBC gold to move up to cruiserweight.
It was a childhood dream come true for Scotland's Hutchinson, who said before the fight he wrote about his dreams of becoming a WBC champion at the age of 13. An emotional Hutchinson said after his win was confirmed: "I want to tell the story one more time. I was 13-years-old.
My dad was working in Sweden. I signed it in a book, I said I will become a world champion. Let's go!" Can I say thank you to my coach because I'll you one thing, without him I don't think I'll be here today let alone boxing.
This man dug me out of a hole that I never thought that I would get out of, so this is all a bonus baby." Ticket sales were modest for a world title fight as it was clear that it did not capture the attention of the British public. But those inside made the atmosphere as raucous as possible, with the Manchester crowd favouring Hutchinson. And they were delighted when the result was read out and Hutchinson became the eighth British light-heavyweight champion - the first since Nathan Cleverly in 2017.
Hutchinson improved his record to 21 victories with two defeats, while it is the second time Londoner Buatsi has lost in 22 professional fights.
Source: BBC Sport · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing