Interim light heavyweight champion Joshua Buatsi reveals his honest Bivol vs Beterbiev

Joshua Buatsi was a keen observer of the lightweight clash between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol last weekend.

The British wrestler has been building his career for some time after winning a bronze medal at the 2016 Olympics.

So far he has had 19 fights and won them all, 13 of which have come by stoppage. During that time, he has beaten compatriots Liam Conroy and Dan Azeez, the latter giving him the British and Commonwealth lightweight titles, while he has also held the WBA international lightweight title in the past.

His most recent outing was a split decision victory over Willy Hutchinson in September at Wembley Stadium, in which Buatsi knocked down his man twice and won the interim WBO lightweight belt, the meaning he tops the list of potential opponents for the division’s now undisputed champion, Beterbiev.

Beterbiev beat Bivol by majority decision in a close fight over 12 rounds, but many in the audience felt that Bivol had done enough to get his hand up. Speaking to Boxing Now, Buatsi revealed that he also thought Bivol should have taken it on the scorecards.

“I’ll be honest with you, I really won Bivol. When I heard the final scorecards I thought two judges had seen it the other way, but the third judge indicated that Bivol had won it, but look, that was just my opinion.”

He was then asked if Bivol’s eye damage had anything to do with swinging the judges.

“Both men had bruised faces. It’s 12 rounds of fighting against each other’s best. In my opinion, I thought Bivol had won.”

While Buatsi may be more interested in chasing world honors against Beterbiev, fans have been clamoring for him to take on compatriot Anthony Yarde in what would be a great British showdown.