Another one of Boxxer’s most popular fighters in Joshua Buatsi has split from the UK-based promotion to potentially joining up British behemoth Queensberry Promotions, following in the footsteps of Lawrence Okolie. With both Buatsi and Okolie having been poached from Matchroom years prior, Boxxer now firmly appears to be on the decline as more fighters seem set to leave in the wake of the promotion’s split with Sky Sports.
British light-heavyweight (175 lbs) contender Joshua Buatsi’s (19-1, 13 KO’s) contract with Boxxer expired yet the promotion has unsurprisingly refused to be transparent about the split; an altogether trademark of Boxxer which has built a reputation off being conniving and incompetent over the past couple of years.
Though Buatsi’s split from Boxxer was announced by the promotion itself, it follows months after the fighter’s contract with the promotion expired following his February 22nd contest against Callum Smith which ended in a unanimous decision loss for Buatsi.
“To clarify, Joshua Buatsi’s promotional contract with Boxxer expired at the end of February,” Boxxer reportedly said. “His final fight under the Boxxer banner was his bout against Callum Smith. Joshua Buatsi is a free agent. Boxxer wish him well in his future endeavours.”
An official announcement regarding the split has remained absent but makes sense given the controversial nature of Buatsi’s signing with Boxxer ― making his subsequent split from the promotion even more dramatic.
Coming over from Matchroom in 2023, Buatsi’s move to Boxxer was met with a court battle that was only recently confirmed earlier this year as Matchroom accused Boxxer and Sky Sports of poaching the fighter from them.
The case was eventually settled in court but revealed sordid details implicating Boxxer, Sky Sports and Buatsi’s lawyers; with promises of Buatsi becoming a figurehead for the promotion and his lawyers reportedly misrepresenting the material terms of Matchroom’s offer to Buatsi, which supposedly matched Boxxer’s own offer.
Joining after another Matchroom talent in Lawrence Okolie (22-1, 16 KO’s) ended up with Boxxer following his own split with the promotion in late 2022, Buatsi did indeed become one of the faces for Boxxer, fighting a total of four times under their banner; headlining twice with the promotion, and further featuring in Riyadh Season’s first-ever event held in the UK where he defeated Willy Hutchinson to become the WBO interim champion at 175 pounds.
Buatsi’s last fight against Callum Smith (31-2, 22 KO’s) on February 22nd saw Buatsi lose his WBO interim title to Smith.
With Matchroom discounted as potential destination for Buatsi given the aforementioned legal dispute, the only plausible destination for Buatsi appears to be Queensberry Promotions which former Matchroom and Boxxer stablemate Lawrence Okolie joined in October of last year.
Queensberry Promotions is regarded as one of the best British promotions in the UK alongside Matchroom and provides Buatsi with plenty of opportunities to challenge for a world title. Joshua Buatsi himself hinted at already having reached an agreement with Queensberry though remained tight-lipped on the exact details:
“I’m a free agent,” Buatsi told Boxing King Media in a recent interview. “But as I said, we got some news coming up. And I think it wouldn’t be too long. Wish I could tell you more, but we got to wait a little bit.“
Ironically, such a move contradicts earlier statements made by Joshua Buatsi where he cited one of the reasons for leaving Matchroom being due to featuring on the DAZN app. Notably, Queensberry Promotions joined global streaming service DAZN earlier this year.
Buatsi is unlikely to be the only fighter set to depart after Boxxer’s broadcasting arrangement with Sky Sports was announced to be ending last month, with the promotion having yet to announce a new broadcaster.
