Buatsi not rushing his rise as Conroy next on March 23

BY RICHARD CAWLEY 
richard@slpmedia.co.uk

Joshua Buatsi challenges for the vacant British light-heavyweight title on March 23 – but is not going to do any homework on Liam Conroy.

The two men meet at the Copper Box Arena with the domestic strap at stake.
And Buatsi’s approach is not meant with any disrespect.

“I know as much [about Conroy] as BoxRec [a website that displays fight records] provided,” the South Londoner, who has seven stoppage wins in a perfect 9-0 record,  told iFL TV.

“I know he has won his last five by knockout and is about the same height and build.

“Does he come to fight or box? I’m not too sure.

“Talking now is different to when it’s fight night. You don’t know how people come at you and react. How they fight someone else could be completely different to how they box you.

“I try not to watch too many opponents. I work on improving myself all the time so that it is the best version of me. I believe that version beats anyone.
‘If I’m not improving then I’m not training right.”

Buatsi has been picked out by promoter Eddie Hearn as the biggest UK talent.

But the South Londoner downplays when he could be ready to mix it for world honours.

“I’ve only got one aim and that’s March 23,” he said. “It is hard to look past that, because I have to keep winning to get there.

“It’s about walking in there on that date knowing I’ve done everything I could – not spending time checking what some other guy is doing.

It’s about having a clear head and putting everything into the gym – when it’s time to fight, you are confident because you’ve put the work in.”

The 25-year-old won bronze at the 2016 Olympics in Rio.

So what does he determine as success in his career?

“It changes,” he replied. “What I tell you today might change tomorrow. At one point I wanted to win that Olympic title so badly, I would do anything for it. Now I don’t even look at it.

“I’m not saying I don’t care about it, but it’s changed – I want to achieve something else.

“There’s a video I’ve seen of Mike Tyson holding the world title belts and saying they are garbage. I think ‘damn, you’re throwing them away – calling them garbage’.

I haven’t got that [kind of perspective].  So, to me, that may be success. But you can see a man who has been there and done it, saying that it isn’t. Right now, success for me is March 23.”

The British title is just supposed to be an early part of the ride to the top for Buatsi. But he rejects any claims he could have set his sights higher.

“You have to learn,” said Buatsi. “There are no pushovers at the top of my weight category, everyone is a good fighter at that level.

“If you can learn as much as possible and if you can gradually move up, then I think you should.

“If you get chucked in the deep end, and it’s too early for you, you can get badly hurt. And it’s you that happens to, not the people on the outside.

“I’d rather trust the people that see me every day in the gym.”

Croydon’s Charlie Edwards makes the first defence of his WBC flyweight title against Spain’s Angel Moreno.

The 26-year-old won a unanimous decision over Cristofer Rosales to achieve his world title dream in December.

Edwards (14-1) said: “I want to be a British great, and to be a British great I want to be a multi-weight world champion, and this new book, it starts now.

All the other fights, they will unfold in the future. I’m ready now to fight anyone and everyone.”