Buatsi-Parker Weigh-In Results: Winner Eyes Benavidez-Yarde

Joshua Buatsi (19-1, 13 KOs) weighed in at 174.10 pounds, while his opponent, Zach Parker (26-1,18 KOs), weighed in at 174.9 pounds for their 10-round WBO International Light Heavyweight title clash this Saturday, Nov. 1, live in Manchester, England. The event will be broadcast live on DAZN at 3:30 PM ET / 12:30 PM PT, and 7:30 PM GMT.

Winner targets Benavidez-Yarde

Buatsi and Parker have a lot on the line for this showdown. The winner can fight for a world title against whoever emerges victorious in next month’s fight between WBC 175-lb champion David Benavidez and Anthony Yarde for their November 22 showdown.

Weights

• Joshua Buatsi: 174.10 vs. Zach Parker: 174.9
• Brad Rea: 173.13 vs. Lyndon Arthur: 174.13
• Liam Cameron: 173.13 vs. Troy Jones: 174.11
• Billy Deniz: 174.3 vs. Ezra Arenyeka: 177.3
• Khaleel Majid: 139.14 vs. David Ryan: 140
• Luke Prior: 147.10 vs. Eduardo Vera Sanchez: 150.6
• John Tom Varey: 115.8 vs. Brandon Gallardo Vargas: 116.12
• Stephen Clarke: 161.8 vs. Jose Aguirre: 161.4
• Brad Casey: 201.7 vs. Antonio Borovina: 200
• Leon Hughes: 180.2 vs. Pavol Garage: 174.15
• Jermaine Dholivayo: 129.7 vs. Cesar Paredes: 130.12

“He’s an ambitious fighter, and that makes him a dangerous fighter. That’s enough information for me,” Joshua Buatsi said. talkSport Boxing about Zach Parker. “I have to win this one to keep moving forward. “He (promoter Frank Warren) said the winner becomes #1. You want to be in that position to be #1 to challenge for a title. So, I’m happy about that.”

Why this fight still matters

A win on Saturday could push Buatsi to #1 in the WBC rankings at 175. That still doesn’t mean he’ll be next to challenge the winner of the November 22nd showdown between WBC light heavyweight champion David Benavidez and Anthony Yarde. The winner will surely challenge Dmitry Bivol for his IBF, WBA and WBO 175-lb belts.

Given how Parker and Buatsi have looked in their recent fights, they are not fighting at the level WBC champion Benavidez is currently. So, if they do challenge him, they will need to make colossal improvements in their game so they don’t end up as Benavidez’s next victim.

“This is a guy who is determined. He knows that it is very important for him to win this fight. I am dealing with a dangerous fighter,” Buatsi said. Queensberry about Zach. “We’ve got to show that we’re better on Saturday. Yes,” Joshua said when asked if he’d watched much of Parker.

The 32-year-old Buatsi cannot afford to lose this fight if he wants to have a shot at the winner of the November 22nd fight between WBC light heavyweight champion David Benavidez and Anthony Yarde. Buatsi’s recent 12 round split decision loss to Callum Smith on February 22, 2025 took a lot of the air out of his career.

Joshua was criticized going into that fight for the extremely slow approach he took throughout his career, and his habit of taking long periods of inactivity. He needs to win on Saturday and take the fight to the Benavidez Yard if it’s there for him.

“I’ve been waiting a long time for a chance,” Parker said. “I got upset when I broke my hand in the Ryder fight, but I rebuilt some of them. I’m here now and I can’t wait for it. It was probably my best camp of my life.”

Parker needs his old form back

It will have to be the best version of Parker from four years ago for him to defeat Buatsi, as it is a big step up from the four low-level fighters he fought during his recent rebuild.

Parker took a lot of heat from boxing fans for giving up after four rounds due to a hand injury in his fight against John Ryder on November 26, 2022. People believe Parker should have stayed in and fought the injury because he was facing a guy he should have been able to beat.

Buatsi’s chin is still a question mark

Buatsi is far from invincible, as we saw in his 12-round split decision to 35-year-old Callum Smith earlier this year on February 22, 2025 in Riyadh. Parker has a chance to win if he can turn the fight into a war, as Callum did, and focus on targeting Buatsi’s head.

Smith hurt himself in his previous fight against Willy Hutchinson. Those two fights may have taken something out of Buatsi. Even if they didn’t, he showed vulnerability in the chin department that Zach could capitalize on if he was willing to go to war with him.