Joshua "Just Business" Buatsi

Just stating for the record that he gets the official IB stamp of legitimacy. I'm still not sure he is well-rounded enough to conquer light heavyweight in the pros, but his form thus far coupled with his amateur credentials make him easily the most formidable Brit at 175lbs. I have always maintained he is better than (and h2h would absolutely wreck) Anthony Yarde...but I'm slowly warming up to him being a genuine contender and not just the "lesser of two evils" (as in, slightly less of an inflated hype job than Yarde, to whom comparisons have been drawn since Buatsi's debut). Yarde is more athletically gifted, but has an IQ of "√baked potato". Now, by no means am I saying the Ghanaian-born slugger is to Yarde as James Toney or Bernard Hopkins was to Roy Jones; but he is a good finisher with solid instincts and less prone to costly defensive mistakes. His punch selection is better and typically more thought-out, and I think he does have an edge in shot for shot power (while Yarde is more heavy-handed). They have one common professional opponent in Tony Averlant; Buatsi dusted him off in a round, and Yarde took 7 to retire him on his stool.

In the amateurs he scored an impressive number of RSC's & kayos - including of Ali Bagodinoviç Akhmedov, on whom I've been high for quite some time. He was a domestic ace, picking up a pair of ABA gold medals in England, and fared quite well on the international scene in tourneys, including the Olympics, generally advancing to medal stages and only losing to super-elites from amateur boxing powerhouses like Kazakhstan & Cuba. Many of his victims in the pros have been rarely if ever stopped before.

He was supposed to face Blake Caparello a month ago, but had to withdraw due to an illness rendering him unable to perform in training camp. No word yet on when he will return to action, despite a few social media rumors of him being held in reserve for a surprise week-of addition to next Saturday's heavyweight championship rematch (Ruiz vs. Joshua II) card in Diriyah.

Standing at 6'2" with dual-fisted pop and decent offensive technique (and passing fair on D), he could well be a tall poppy in the blossoming field of young world class light heavyweights.

 

"on D" = team sports parlance (understood among us Yanks anyhow) for "on defense"

If we're doing letter grades, since you brought it up, I was saying his offensive technique is very good (say B+) and defensively he's...eh, fine (C+). Not great, but a good deal better than Yarde's (D-).

 

Ah, no worries. I was about to say, "strong on D" might be primarily just a basketball thing, and I know basketball is hardly a high priority for most in the UK. Maybe, like ten sports down the list after "footy", cricket, and...uh, idk what else you guys watch tbh. Water polo?

But yeah, eventually most sports terms like that end up transcending if their function carries over. And I don't even know for a fact that it originated in basketball talk, just speaking out my arse.

 

That's fair, yeah. Missing way less than Yarde, though, IMO.

 

Put it this way: if Kovalev fought Buatsi the way Kovalev fought Yarde, there's a high percentage chance of Kovalev getting KTFO. (but also just as high a chance of Buatsi getting KTFO, unless his chin - presently a question mark - is titanium)

 

^ Granted that only applies to current, bedraggled, dog-left-out-in-a-rainstorm Kovalev, of the Yarde & Canelo fights. A prime Krusher would massacre Buatsi, titanium or no.