Shelly Finkel and Ben Shalom Hint at Willy Hutchinson vs. Joshua Buatsi Showdown

Willy Hutchinson and Joshua Butasi both won their last fights in impressive style against Craig Richards and Dan Azeez respectively. Their managers Shelly Finkel (Hutchinson) and Ben Shalom (Buatsi) have now revealed what could be next for their fighter and spoken about a potential  Hutchinson-Buatsi clash.

Shelly Finkel and Ben Shalom Talk Hutchinson-Buatsi

Finkel and Shalom Welcome Clash

Following his victory over Richards at the Matchroom vs. Queensberry event, Hutchinson has emerged as a light heavyweight contender, including a possible option to take on Joshua Buatsi for a WBO interim title. The discussions around a Buatsi-Anthony Yarde bout have stalled recently, with plenty of options appearing – while the major world titles are tied up for the Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol undisrupted fight on October 12. A potential fight between Hutchinson and Buatsi appears likely as the WBO has now mandated Hutchinson as the opponent for an interim title fight with Buatsi.

The Scot’s manager Shelly Finkel told Sky Sports: “We would very much welcome a fight against Buatsi.” Ben Shalom also revealed that he expects to finalise Buatsi’s next fight in the coming days and addressed a potential fight against Hutchinson: “He’s in a great position right now,” Shalom told Sky Sports. “He’s worked hard to get to this position and he’s got two potentially great fights ahead.”

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He continued: “Personally I think the Yarde fight is the one that fans want to see most and it’s one that we’ve been trying to make for a long time. But obviously there’s been difficulties making that fight and it’s taken a bit of time.”

Shalom added: “You’ve got the Hutchinson fight as well, given the order for the WBO interim. So great options.”

“He’ll make his choice. He wants the big fights, he wants the big nights, he wants the headline slots, he wants the show for himself so we’ll see what happens over the next week or so.”

Ben Shalom Reveals Light Heavyweight Standing for Buatsi

“He’s No 1 in most of the governing bodies,” Shalom said. “I think the IBF [mandatory] is next in line then it’s the WBA. He’s No 1, he’s going to get his opportunity.“

Shalom added: “I think it’s a waiting game now on Bivol-Beterbiev whatever happens.”

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“His fight against Dan Azeez was a final eliminator [for the WBA title]. In the WBC he’s the No 1 as well,” Shalom said.

Talking about making decisions: “He’s got to make the best decisions for the biggest fights for the most amount of money and luckily there’s a couple of options.”