Joshua Buatsi remained unbeaten on September 21, when he faced Willy Hutchinson at Wembley Stadium in London. The Ghanian light heavyweight walked away with the win against his opponent of Scotland by decision. The contest was featured on the card topped by Anthony Joshua vs Daniel Dubois.
Buatsi and Hutchinson battled it out for interim WBO 175 lbs title. On his way to victory, Buatsi dropped Hutchinson twice in the sixth and ninth rounds with body shots. In the seventh round, the latter was also deducted a point for use of head.
Nevertheless, after 12 rounds, judge Grzegorz Molenda scored the fight 113-112 in favor of Hutchinson. Judges Howard Foster and Salvador Salva had 115-110 and 117-108, respectively, for Buatsi.
With the victory by split decision, Joshua Buatsi improved to 19-0, 13 KOs. The London-based 31-year-old became a mandatory contender to face the winner of Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol on October 12.
26-year-old Willy Hutchinson dropped to 18-2, 13 KO. The defeat snapped his five-fight winning streak.