Joshua Buatsi will be facing light heavyweight contender Zach Parker in a 12-round Queensberry-promoted triple header on November 1st at the Co-op Live in Manchester, England. The event will be shown live on DAZN.
The 2016 Olympian Buatsi (19-1, 13 KOs) recently signed with Queensberry, and they’re putting him in a position where he can get a win under his belt to bounce back from his recent defeat against Callum Smith.
Buatsi was matched tough in his last two fights, going up against Smith and Willy Hutchinson in back-to-back fights. He barely got through the Hutchinson fight and then fell apart against Callum. Queensberry’s decision to match Buatsi against the very beatable Parker (26-1, 18 KOs) allows him to take a break from the grind.
New signing Buatsi (19-1, 13 KOs) takes on another mighty domestic showdown against another Queensberry man in Zach Parker (26-1, 18 KOs)
Buatsi is ranked #6 WBC and #7 WBO. He wants to get a title shot, but he’s not going to do that without going through someone tough, like David Morrell, Imam Khataev, Arlen Lopez, or Ben Whittaker.
Parker is ranked #4 WBO, #12 WBC, and #13 IBF. He’s won his last four fights against domestic-level opposition since losing to John Ryder in 2022.
What time does Buatsi vs Parker start and when are ringwalks?
Date: Saturday, November 1
US broadcast start: 3:00 p.m. ET / 12:00 p.m. PT
Main event ringwalks (approx): 5:30 p.m. ET / 2:30 p.m. PT
UK guide: 8:00 p.m. GMT broadcast start, 10:30 p.m. GMT ringwalks
Times can shift with stoppages. Give yourself a 30-minute cushion around the ringwalk.
How to watch live?
US: DAZN
UK: DAZN
Fighter quotes from the Manchester media event
Zach Parker:
“This is a massive fight and a thousand other boxers would jump at the chance to be here at this place. I am really looking forward to it, I’ve put a lot into this training camp to headline in Manchester, live on DAZN. I am buzzing for it.
(On Buatsi being favourite) It is all just outside noise, it doesn’t affect me whatsoever, I’ve just got to go in and do a job.
It is obviously a new weight class for me and I have only boxed once at it, but I feel like I have proper grown into it. I was a massive super middleweight and it is easier to make the weight now with another half stone.
I think it is a must-win fight for both of us. The winner goes on to fight in massive fights.”
Joshua Buatsi:
“I am excited. The first press conference was two or three months out and I wasn’t that excited, but now we’re less than two days away, so I am ready for it.
It is a fight that I know I must win, a fight I have prepared very hard for and I am looking forward to.
A fighter that is ambitious makes him dangerous. Parker seems very ambitious so he will be a dangerous fighter. It is for me to go in there and handle business.
I wouldn’t say I am looking to send out any reminders, I am looking to win.”