World Championship: In the immediate aftermath of his victory over Pawel Stepien in Birmingham, Joshua Buatsi had a crucial point to make. His rival was competent.
At the Resorts World Arena on Saturday, Buatsi successfully dissuaded the tenacious Pole over the course of 10 rounds, but Stepien was unbeaten and ranked No. 4 in the world before their fight.
In order to secure a significant fight before the year is up, Croydon’s Buatsi had to overcome ring rust after being out of action for nearly a year.
They may claim that the ring rust is genuine, but Buatsi said, “I went in there and I was sharp.”
“The point is, the guy was good. I actually have to give him credit. He was quite competent. Huge kudos to him. He came up and fought for the first time outside of Poland, putting up a solid battle. I must give him points for it.
“On the surface, people were only able to view him now; yet, they were unaware of his history. Excellent amateur boxer who represented Poland, competed in the World Series of Boxing, and, as we mentioned earlier in the week, boxed all over the world. So he makes for a good foe.
“Someone who was intending to triumph.”
Buatsi, however, could not merely stand by and watch that unfold.
“If I hadn’t won, the reaction would have been different. So I need to keep that portion in mind,” he remarked.
“In boxing, mistakes are impossible. You must succeed. Although I’m happy with my victory, I wanted to give the crowd a fantastic victory because they were there.”
In other words, Buatsi, a forceful, aggressive combination puncher, really did aim for a knockout.
That will motivate him. In two weeks, he will reopen training camp. He aspires to box continuously and plans to compete in important matches in 2023.
“I’m looking for a good, big battle. I mean, it was wonderful that I boxed there in front of everyone. I told Ben [Shalom, his promoter], let me fly back to the States in two weeks [for camp], and get me back out there. I want to get into entertaining bouts. Cool, he replied.
“All we can do is wait and see. However, I want to box.”
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