WHILE everyone waited for Anthony Joshua and Carlos Takam to weigh-in at the Motorpoint Arena, Joshua Buatsi quietly stepped on the scales to little fanfare and breathed a sigh of relief. At last, he could go and get his hair cut.
At yesterday’s press conference, the 2016 Olympic bronze medallist made a point of telling everyone his hair and beard would be in much better shape come fight night.
“My spirits are high and I’m looking forward to the fight,” he said ahead of his third professional outing before drawing attention to his barnet. “Don’t worry, I’m going to get a haircut, and get the beard cut.”
Not exactly looking like the hobo he would have you believe, Buatsi admitted his appearance had been playing on his mind more than usual because he was away from his London home.
“It’s so people know what’s going on, let me address this straight away,” Buatsi explained when asked why he told the room he was ashamed of his hair. “What’s playing on my mind is I’m in Cardiff, and I haven’t got my barber from London so I’m going to have to trust someone new to touch my hair and I don’t really like doing that.”
Never fear, local fighter Joe Cordina has promised to help out Buatsi with a barber.
“Joe Cordina is from Cardiff and he says ‘Josh, I’ve got you covered, don’t stress’.
“For me, this is the look during camp. Once it all comes off I can say the camp is over. Everything is done, you’ve made the weight, all that’s left to do is eat and concentrate on the fight. It’s the last procedure of camp, once that’s done, we’re good to go.
“Having a good haircut can make or break your appearance. I’m going to get a good haircut, fight well, and look good.”
Thankfully, there’s more to Buatsi in the ring than looking sharp.
“If I had to box like this I still would. You might have pink hair but as long as you’re knocking people out it doesn’t matter. There’s a whole package.”
