In that September 2024 meeting with Buatsi, Hutchinson was dropped twice (rounds 6 and 9). While one judge somehow found a way to give it to him 113-112, the other two saw a much clearer picture at 117-108 and 115-110. He showed heart to finish, but he was physically manhandled for large portions of that fight.
“Buatsi, I will make absolutely easy work of him,” Hutchinson told talkSport Boxing. “I’m telling you. I’ll say it again.”
Hutchinson viewed his most recent action, beating Taylor, as a statement to the public. As fans begin to take note of his rise, Hutchinson claims he’s been at this level for years and is waiting for the world to catch up.
“These doors were open a long time ago, but for some reason everyone is just seeing it now,” he said.
He added that he never needed to get out of second gear in his latest outing, claiming he controlled the fight throughout and could have done more if needed.
“I boxed 10 rounds with my hands down, and the man couldn’t hit me. I was just having fun.”
By calling Buatsi immediately, Hutchinson bypasses “safe” options. He doesn’t see a rematch as a gamble. Rather, he sees it as a necessary correction of his record.
This aggressive stance puts the ball firmly in Buatsi’s court. With Hutchinson claiming to be operating on a different plane, the boxing world is watching to see if Buatsi is willing to run it back and settle the score once and for all.
The version of Buatsi we’ve seen over the last year looks a lot more vulnerable than the one who beat Hutchinson. Buatsi suffered a sustained beating in his first pro defeat in a fight against Callum Smith in February 2025. Smith’s power and precision seemed to take something out of him, and he lacked his usual sharpness.
In Buatsi’s last fight against Zach Parker in November 2025, which he won by a 10-round decision, he seemed to lose something of his game.
Many fans and pundits felt Parker did enough to win, and the majority decision for Buatsi was greeted with loud boos in Manchester. Buatsi looked sluggish and struggled with Parker’s movement. Three straight 10-12 round wars against Smith, Parker and Hutchinson is a lot of mileage in 18 months.
Hutchinson’s biggest advantage now is momentum and freshness. Since losing to Buatsi, he has a TKO win over Mark Jeffers and just cruised past Ezra Taylor without getting out of second gear.
While Buatsi has been embroiled in controversial decisions and physical wars, Hutchinson has refined his game and remained relatively untouched. If they fight again at the end of 2026, Hutchinson may end up with a “withered” version of the man who dropped him twice.
