Purse bids for the interim WBO light heavyweight title between Joshua Buatsi and Willy Hutchinson will take place on June 24 at 11am Eastern.
WBO President Paco Valcárcel will oversee the proceedings at the WBO offices in San Juan, Puerto Rico, with a minimum bid of $300,000 set for the championship rights. Per WBO regulations, if the fight occurs in a neutral venue or with no home field advantage, the purse will be evenly split between the fighters. Parties involved must deposit 20 per cent of their bid within two business days after adjudication, with bout agreements due within five days.
The decision to schedule the interim title match follows WBO titleholder Artur Beterbiev’s recovery from a meniscus injury which caused the postponement of his undisputed 175lbs title fight with Dmitrii Bivol from June 1st to October 12th.
Buatsi (18-0, 13 KOs), 31, secured a unanimous decision victory over Dan Azeez in February. Originally slated to face Anthony Yarde, Yarde was replaced by Hutchinson due to Yarde’s lack of communication with the WBO.
Hutchinson (18-1, 13 KOs), aged 25, despite being ranked behind Albert Ramirez, Adam Deines, and Ali Izmailov, was chosen as the next contender.
Hutchinson is coming off a significant win over Craig Richards, part of Queensberry Promotions’ dominant performance against Matchroom Boxing in the Riyadh Season 5 x 5 event.
The Scot holds a five-fight win streak since his sole loss to Lennox Clarke via a fifth-round technical knockout.
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