Faith, fire and a ticking clock for Buatsi – Bunce column

Joshua Buatsi is a very close friend, but I have no idea who he is.

Buatsi is a very private man, who will face Zach Parker at light-heavyweight on Saturday night in Manchester.

He might be one of the most secretive boxers I’ve ever met.

He professes a strong Christian faith. He preaches from a pulpit. He does a lot of work in various nations around the world, particularly Ghana, a nation of his birth.

He doesn’t want any of this to be covered, and he doesn’t want any of it.

So there is no denying that Buatsi is a great man.

After watching him win the Olympic bronze medal for Great Britain at Rio 2016 in person, is he where I expected him to be as a boxer?

No, he’s not. He might be a little bit more developed, I believed. However, that doesn’t mean he won’t get where I expect him to go.

Buatsi has faced difficult, difficult fights since becoming a professional in 2017 without losing.

He is 32 years old but still a little young. He has learned a lot over the past two or three years. He hasn’t been fighting too much. He is neither tired nor weary.

Buatsi held his own against some of the best in the world when he competed in the amateurs at the World and European levels.

Richie Woodhall, a former world champion and current Team GB coach, was extremely supportive of him both before and while we were there.

Joe Joyce, Josh Kelly, Nicola Adams, and Savannah Marshall were present. However, Richie claimed that Buatsi was the one who was on the lookout for and was going under the radar.

He didn’t turn professional for more than a year after the Olympics, which is where I’m at.

He had thrust. People were talking about him when he signed with Anthony Joshua’s management company. For that long, you can’t go into hibernation.

I anticipated that Buatsi would take one or two years to really get going once he won the British title in 2019, but Covid arrived.

Covid’s career was slowed down by the use of him as an excuse, but that’s okay.

Buatsi has also admitted to occasionally jumping ship and being promoter-hopping, which never helps his career.

Buatsi has been put to the test in 20 professional fights, despite everything I just said.

He has defeated Craig Richards, Dan Azeez, and Willie Hutchinson before falling to Callum Smith from 2022 to 2050.

Even in defeat, a boxer can become a better fighter thanks to all four of those foes. Azeez’s fight was the highlight of the year. There were moments in the Hutchinson conflict. The Richards fight was excellent.

Buatsi established his position in the division after Smith, a contender for the title, was defeated in Saudi Arabia.

Although there were only two or three rounds, I believed Smith had won. It was too wide according to the judge who gave it to Smith by nine rounds.

Warren’s involvement with Parker demonstrates his faith in his fighter.

Both fighters rank among the top ten light-heavyweights worldwide. It’s a fantastic fight, and Buatsi would have a strong advantage in it.

Perhaps Queensberry will produce a fly-on-the-wall documentary to give us a little more insight into him.

Although he won’t like this, Buatsi’s exposure isn’t helped by his being so secretive outside the ring.

Although the most recent Love Island star does not appear in his character when he leaves nightclubs at 3am, Buatsi has more to offer than meets the eye.

After the fight, you occasionally experience his adrenaline rush and that little venom. Perhaps we need to see a little more of that fire.