JOSHUA BUATSI wants to avoid the career dip which Joe Joyce suffered after winning an interim title.
Joyce captured the WBO interim heavyweight belt after impressively beating Joseph Parker in September 2022. โThe Juggernautโ then lost the title to Zhilei Zhang and then suffering a second defeat to the Chinese heavyweight. And in July Joyce lost to Derek Chisora over 10 rounds.
Buatsi currently holds the WBO interim light-heavyweight strap having overcame a brave effort from Willy Hutchinson last month. The unbeaten 31-year-old now wants a world title shot.
โThereโs no more in-between fights or this or that,โ Buatsi told Boxing News.
โIโve see Joe Joyce have an interim belt and take certain fights that I think he shouldnโt have taken and then ran into Zhang and then Chisora so itโs something to learn from.
โBut thereโs also [other] fighters that had the interim themselves, well Daniel Dubois. I think he won the IBF interim and then got a big win against AJ and now look where heโs at. The most important thing you can do is keep winning, whoeverโs in front of you make sure you win.โ
Buatsi will now target a fight against Artur Beterbiev but may need to step aside if a rematch between the undisputed champion and Dmitry Bivol is agreed. There are two fights, in the meantime, which could interest Buatsi.
โIt probably is a Yarde fight,โ he expressed.
โWhat other fightโs intriguing right nowโฆ Callum Smith. Iโve heard that nameโs been put forward in terms of that could be a fight. Those are the two names that has been mentioned but until the paperworkโs in front of you itโs always just talk but weโll see.โ