Olympic medalist Joshua Buatsi cruised to a commanding Unanimous Decision victory at the Resorts World Arena, Birmingham and live on Sky Sports. The undefeated Light Heavyweight earned scorecards of 97-94, 98-92, and 100-90 from the judges, impressively shutting down a determined and heavy-handed opponent in Pawel Stepien.
Buatsi was measured and economical in the first half of the fight, feeling Stepien out as he shook off the cobwebs from over a year out of the ring and stopped Stepien from having any opportunity to land his dynamite right hand.
The Olympic medalist grew into the fight as the rounds went on, loosening up his offense and coming into range to trade punches more often, confident he could come out of any exchange the victor.
Stepien gave everything across the 10 rounds and did not come to lose, taking any chance he got to land shots across the rounds, stepping up the intensity in the second half of the fight and giving Buatsi plenty to think about. This offense from Stepien did give Buatsi chances to land some crunching shots to Stepien’s body that forced him to back away and shell up.
Despite 12 months out of the ring, Joshua Buatsi controlled the fight, and won every single round on one judge’s scorecard, on the way to an intelligent, dominant victory where he didn’t take any unnecessary risks that could have left any talk of challenging for a world championship in future in tatters.
Shrewd performances like this one are crucial for winning and retaining world championships, and that’s what Joshua Buatsi wants to do.
“I’ve been out of the ring for almost a year, so I needed the 10 rounds. I wanted to knock him out, and I’m disappointed I didn’t, but we got the win. If I had lost it, everything would have changed, so I had to be smart,” Buatsi told Sky Sports after the fight.
Having removed the ring-rust from his extensive layoff and beaten a tough, previously-undefeated opponent, Buatsi is now in position for options ranging from huge domestic clashes to world title contention.
Televised Card Results:
Joshua Buatsi def. Pavel Stepian – UD (98-92, 97-94, 100-90)
Lauren Price def. Kirstie Bavington – UD (100-90, 100-90, 100-90)
Ben Whittaker def. Jordan Grant – KO Rd 3 (0:13)
Tyler Denny def. Macaulay McGowan – SD (96-94, 96-94, 93-97)
Sean McComb def. Kaisee Benjamin – UD (97-94, 97-93, 96-95)
Full Undercard Results
Lauren Price def. Kirstie Bavington – UD (100-90, 100-90, 100-90)
Olympic Gold Medalist Lauren Price was able to add the first ever Womens’ British Championship to her collection in a whitewash, dominating victory over Kirstie Bavington. Price managed the distance of the fight perfectly as Bavington came forward and put her under pressure in every single round. Despite the pressure, Lauren Price was able to fire off brutal combinations as Bavington approached that left her bloodied and badly hurt.
Price looked somewhat close to a stoppage a few times in the later rounds of the fight, but stayed regimented in her approach and took no risks in a fight she was walking away with, making her first 10 round fight look like something she’d done a thousand times before.
Lauren Price made history again, after having done so before in Tokyo, with this victory, and went the Championship distance in only her 4th professional fight. She now looks certain to win World Championships in the professional ranks, with the only question being what could possibly slow her down.
Lauren Price said to Sky Sports after the fight: “I can’t put into words what this means. The olympics was a dream of mine, then I had to start all over again in the professional ranks. Now this was my 4th fight, first 10 rounder, and now I’m British champion. Kirstie made me work for it, she’s extremely fit and kept me on my toes all fight long.”
Ben Whittaker def. Jordan Grant – KO Rd 3 (0:13)
Olympic silver medalist and future boxing superstar Ben Whittaker took another stunning stoppage in the third professional fight of his career, sending a resilient opponent in Jordan Grant tumbling to the canvas and unable to answer the referee’s count just seconds into the 3rd round with a savage left hook to the temple.
Whittaker totally outclassed Grant across the short amount of time the fight lasted, intelligently forcing him into the corner of the ring with footwork and firing off crisp, fast shots to the head and body without allowing Grant to return fire for even a second, minimising all risk. This culminated with a perfect 1-2 from Whittaker straight through the middle of Grant’s guard at the end of the 2nd round that almost ended the fight, but Grant battled on for the start of the 3rd, where he was then beaten into submission.
With his unquestionable self-confidence, brash style in and out the ring, and a penchant for showboating to his opponents, Ben Whittaker has already become a marmite figure in boxing. But everyone, whether they love him or hate him, can’t deny he is one of the world’s finest boxing talents and looks destined for greatness in professional boxing.
Ben Whittaker said to Sky Sports after the fight: “I came out here just to have fun. All these people paid their hard-earned money, I wanted to give them a show. I could have got it done in 20 seconds but I thought we’ll go a bit longer. I’ve done the rounds in camp, it’s only right.”
Tyler Denny def. Macaulay McGowan – SD (96-94, 96-94, 93-97)
Tyler Denny took another impressive win on a BOXXER show to continue his recent career run of success. However, Macaulay McGowan made him work extremely hard for his win and had one judge giving the fight to him.
Denny dominated the first half of the fight, outworking and outjabbing McGowan, who looked unsure about how to break out of this losing situation. But as the rounds went on, and McGowan kept the pace high, he started to close Denny down and land big shots. This culminated in a blistering 8th round where Macauley McGowan unloaded everything he had, battering Denny from pillar to post and leaving him on the verge of being knocked down at multiple points across the round.
Tyler Denny did successfully survive this assault, showing true grit to do so, leaving McGowan with little left in the tank to put the same level of pressure on a slowed Denny for the final two rounds.
In the end the fight was razor close, and the division in the opinion of the judges reflected this, and while Tyler Denny ended the fight with his hand raised, both men showed they deserved their place fighting for a title.
Tyler Denny said to Sky Sports after the fight: “I knew this would be my toughest fight. He came for it tonight. I thought I was cruising through the fight after six rounds, but then he came on strong from there to the end. Listen to that hometown crowd backing me as well.”
Sean McComb def. Kaisee Benjamin – UD (97-94, 97-93, 96-95)
Sean McComb retained his WBO European Super Lightweight fight in an epic 10-round war with the massively talented Kaisee Benjamin, in a fight that had action from the first bell to the very last.
McComb took control of the fight from the first round, using his longer reach to pepper Benjamin with big shots across the first three rounds that left Benjamin reeling and with a seriously damaged nose. But Kaisee Benjamin showed tremendous grit to grow into the fight as it went on, trading in the middle rounds and then taking control in the final rounds after slowing McComb down with savage bodyshots. However, McComb hung on well and had done enough to take a unanimous decision victory on the judges’ scorecards.
Both men showed they deserved their spot at the top of British boxing in this fight, and both will have earned anyone watching this fight’s respect and adoration from now on.
Sean McComb said to Sky Sports after the fight: “Thanks to all my fans who have came over with me from Belfast. I knew I’d take this massive opportunity and take the victory here. I would love to fight on Sky Sports again.”
Shakan Pitters def. Joel McIntyre – PTS (80-72)
6 foot 6 inch tall Light Heavyweight giant Shakan Pitters gave an astute performance to win every single round against a tough opponent in Joel McIntyre who came to win. Pitters used his piston-like jab to great effect across the fight, keeping McIntyre at bay and unable to land any shots, no matter how hard he tried to close the distance.
Pitters used his height and reach advantages very well throughout the fight, controlling the distance smartly and choosing his moments to move forward and inflict damage on McIntyre to perfection. Multiple times throughout the fight, most prominently in the 4th and 6th rounds, Pitters hurt McIntyre with big right hands, but again returned to his highly successful jab rather than become reckless.
Pitters will now be hungry to fight for a British title once again, and mix it up with some of the best Light Heavyweights in the country, as he has done in the past.
Cori Gibbs def. Jimmy First – PTS (78-74)
BOXXER Series winner and Lightweight prospect Cori Gibbs avenged the bizarre first loss of his otherwise perfect career to move to 18-1 as a professional by beating the highly talented Jimmy First. Gibbs suffered the first loss of his career to First in December 2022 in a fight that saw Gibbs deducted three points across the course of the fight for losing his gumshield.
These circumstances make Gibbs’s calm, collected performance, where he used skilled footwork to consistently land shots on Jimmy First without taking any in return. First charged forward doggedly in the second half of the fight, and was able to do some damage when he moved into range, but Gibbs stayed composed and saw out the fight for a points victory.
Danny Quartermaine def. Christian Lopez Flores – TKO Rd 4 (2:58)
Exciting young prospect Danny Quartermaine earned the third stoppage victory of his career to move to 9-0 in a fight that introduced him to boxing fans across the UK in impressive style. Quartermaine, heartily cheered on by hundreds of passionate fans, totally outclassed a 40-fight veteran in Christian Lopez Flores, knocking him down twice before the referee felt Flores couldn’t continue in the final seconds, much to Flores’s protestations.
Quartermaine looks set to rise quickly through the ranks of British boxing. With solid boxing skill, genuine knockout punch power, and a large number of impassioned fans, there could be no limit to how far he could go.
Full Card Results:
Joshua Buatsi def. Pavel Stepian –
Lauren Price def. Kirstie Bavington – UD (100-90, 100-90, 100-90)
Ben Whittaker def. Jordan Grant – KO Rd 3 (0:13)
Tyler Denny def. Macaulay McGowan – SD (96-94, 96-94, 93-97)
Sean McComb def. Kaisee Benjamin – UD (97-94, 97-93, 96-95)
Shakan Pitters def. Joel McIntyre – PTS (80-72)
Cori Gibbs def. Jimmy First – PTS (78-74)
Danny Quartermaine def. Christian Lopez Flores – TKO Rd 4 (2:58)