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After Joshua Buatsi won a hard-fought victory against his south London rival Craig Richards on Saturday night, the Brit is now eyeing up a potential world title fight.
The two Brits had a lot on the line on Saturday when they squared off in a pivotal light-heavyweight clash from the O2 Arena in London. The domestic clash was an action-packed fight, but it was Buatsi's skill that proved to be too much as he won by unanimous decision (116-112, 115-113, 115-113).
Craig Richards made a hugely valiant fist of the fight but Buatsi ultimately did enough to win and will look to be propelled towards a fight for the WBA World Light-Heavyweight Title. The belt is currently held by Dmitry Bivol, who defended it against Canelo Alvarez a fortnight earlier.
The unbeaten fighter was speaking with Boxing Social and was asked if he is ready for a world title fight, to which he replied:
"Yeah man. I had a meeting with Eddie [Hearn] before I left to the States [USA] and I said to him, 'These are the fights that I want,' So for me, I've said I'm ready."
Joshua Buatsi then added:
"Of course, Eddie will try and make the fight happen and it's also important to consider what my coach will say because he sees me every day in the gym. He sees what I'm doing, he sees what's required, he'll see, 'Okay he's still got a lot more to learn', or 'Actually, it's the right time.' But asking me, as the fighter, I'd say yeah definitely."
Following the former Olympian's victory, he is now looking at his next opponents in the light heavyweight division and is eager to compete for a world title.
Buatsi landed some huge shots during the fight with Richards and proved that he was good enough to compete at the highest level. However, Richards turned the tables in the middle of the contest, which derailed Buatsi's momentum.
The contest served as a timely reminder to the pre-fight favourite that he still has work to do if he wants to mix in with the division's top fighters likes Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev.
Watch Joshua Buatsi's full interview with Boxing Social here:
Should Joshua Buatsi have another domestic fight before attempting a title challenge?
With one of Joshua Buatsi's biggest rivals, Anthony Yarde, waiting in the wings for a potentially huge British showdown, it offers an opportunity for Buatsi to take another step towards getting a title shot.
Buatsi may feel like there are still some improvements he needs to make if he wants to compete with the biggest names. A battle against Anthony Yarde, however, would prove to be a huge opportunity to prepare himself for a title challenge.
With Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev currently competing at the highest level, Buatsi's team may find it more practical for the Brit to have a mega fight with Yarde first.
Watch Joshua Buatsi vs Craig Richards here via DAZN Boxing:
