“Nah, Tris, the way you’re asking, you know the answer is no,” Joshua Buatsi smiles.
It has been 10 long years since he won bronze at the Rio Olympics. When he turned professional, Buatsi was – according to many – nailed on for a world title.
There was little doubt. In a GB squad that boasted the likes of Joe Joyce, Josh Kelly and Joe Cordina, Buatsi was the one who was perhaps best suited to the pros and from whom most was expected.
A decade on, Kelly is a world champion, Cordina has twice won world belts, and Buatsi gets his first world title opportunity when he faces former foe Willy Hutchinson for the vacant WBC light-heavyweight title on Saturday in Manchester.
There has been just one loss in those 10 years, but only 20 wins. Activity has been an issue, and he’s fought under the promotional banners of Matchroom, Boxxer and now Queensberry.
As he sits beside me on the ring apron of one of the two boxing rings at the New Era Boxing Gym in Merstham, Surrey, Buatsi has a thick head of hair and a thick beard, both of which will likely be streamlined by fight day. He’s wearing a charcoal Nike Jordan T-shirt and sits easily for up to 15 minutes at a time as he makes his media rounds a week or so out from the bout.
He’s not looking at the time and he’s not endlessly scrolling on his phone during or between interviews. His answers are deliberate but not forced.
The question we started off with was whether he knew the professional game would take him on such a winding track to the top.
“I didn’t,” he admits. “I thought it was straightforward. I thought it was a bit like the amateurs, you understand, going to certain tournaments, what it would lead to, what it would do. But with this one, nah, it’s been very windy, but we’re here, Tris, 10 years.”
