Chris Oliver previews Saturday's big fight between Joshua Buatsi and Craig Richards, and expects the bout to go the distance.
Boxing betting tips: Joshua Buatsi v Craig Richards
2pts Buatsi/Richards to go the distance at 6/4 (William Hill, Bet Victor)
We've been waiting a long time to find out if all the hype about Joshua Buatsi is real or not, but we should finally get our answers when he takes on Craig Richards this weekend.
Great things were expected from Buatsi when he turned professional on the back of winning an Olympic bronze medal in 2016, but his 15-fight career has been a real slow burner with no real momentum so far. While his Rio teammate Lawrence Okolie has won a world title and defended it three times, Buatsi has largely coasted through his time as a pro and has yet to face a real test.
That all changes at the O2 Arena on Saturday night when he takes on Richards in a highly-anticipated light heavyweight contest.
There are no belts on the line, but South London bragging rights certainly are, as they grew up just a couple of miles apart and know each other well. The pair have sparred and even fought each other as amateurs in 2014, with Buatsi coming out on top, but things are very different now they are doing it in the paid ranks.
While there was already plenty on interest in this DAZN-televised bout, things went up another notch when Dmitry Bivol dethroned pound-for-pound king 'Canelo' Alvarez with a brilliant performance earlier this month. For it was just a year ago that Bivol came over England to take on Richards, who was given no chance whatsoever but took the unbeaten Russian the distance and two judges returned very close scorecards. Richards may never have been in any danger of winning the fight, but he was competitive throughout, especially in the second half, and that is no mean feat against someone as talented as Bivol.
Richards will have gained plenty of confidence from that performance and that showed when he became the first person to stop Marek Matyja with a sixth-round TKO on his sole subsequent outing in late October. The 32-year-old looked a different fighter to the one that drew with Chad Sugden in 2019 or lost to Frank Buglioni two years earlier, although he did come in at short notice for that latter defeat. He is still improving, and we can expect to see an even better version of the man from Crystal Palace here.
Despite of all this, Buatsi is a red-hot 2/9 favourite to overcome Richards, who is a top price of 4/1 and very much up against it according to the layers. However, those prohibitive odds about the 'jolly' are based largely on his Olympic achievements and reputation, rather than what he has shown since ditching the vest.
Buatsi has dealt with his moderate level of opposition in the manner someone of his pedigree would be expected to do, stopping 13 of his 15 victims along the way. However, he was rocked by Marko Calic in October 2020, before his power got him out of trouble and ended the argument in the seventh round. The Croydon resident recorded his best win to date when ending the seven-fight winning streak of Richard Bolotniks by wearing him down over 11 rounds last time, but the Latvian had lost five times before (from 24 fights) and has never threatened to be world-class.
This could be where it all begins for Buatsi, whose talent has never been in question and his heavy hands are there for all to see. If he can show the improvements he claims to have made since joining up with US trainer Virgil Hunter and produce a big win against Richards, it will be full steam ahead for the Buatsi hype train again - and rightly so. He could do so by stopping Richards from getting into his groove and scoring big with his powerful hooks and overhand rights, not allowing his skilful local rival to maintain the distance.
That said, Richards may have the perfect antidote for that power with his excellent jab and that will not be easy for Buatsi to get past if the underdog gets into his rhythm. We saw him out-jab Bivol at times and it was the lead left-hand of the Russian that caused all sorts of problems for Canelo a fortnight ago. If the pace isn't too high, Richards is very capable of keeping this long and staying out of harm's way, while his own right hand can be explosive when he lets it go.
It's 8/11 that Buatsi gains another victory inside the distance, and it may be that we see a different version of the Olympian now he is faced with a real threat, but that has to be taken on trust and, therefore, it looks a little short to me. I believe this could be a lot closer than the odds would suggest and, similar to when Bivol was about the same price on May 7, it would be no shock if the underdog prevails.
Given it took 11 rounds for Buatsi to grind out a stoppage against Bolotniks and that he arguably has a trickier puzzle to solve here, I like the 6/4 on offer for his fight to go the distance. Richards can be a little negative at times and that may not go down well with the judges, but he can certainly look after himself and that jab of his could ensure there isn't too much action at close quarters here. In what could be an informative and intriguing contest rather than enthralling one, I believe we may have some more scorecard discussions on our hands after this one.
Posted at 1100 BST on 20/05/22
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