Buatsi Outclasses Uninspired Stepien in a Lackluster Bout at Birmingham

Light heavyweight Joshua Buatsi, ranked #1 by the WBA, returned to the ring tonight after an absence of one year and scored a wide 10-round decision over Pawel Stepien at Resorts World, a shopping and entertainment complex in Birmingham, England. Poland’s Stepien, making his first appearance outside his native country, was undefeated (18-0-1) coming in, but was reluctant to engage and the heavily favored Buatsi was unimpressive while improving his ledger to 17-0 (13). The judges had it 100-90, 98-92, and 97-94.

Buatsi, a Ghana-born Londoner with a college degree in sports science, was a bronze medalist in the 2016 Rio Olympics. Currently trained by Virgil Hunter, best known for his work with Andre Ward, he is eyeing the winner of the forthcoming (but as yet unsigned) match between Arrtur Beterbiev and Callum Smith.

Women’s Title Fight

In the first female fight ever sanctioned by the BBBofC for a British title, Lauren Price (4-0, 1 KO) pitched a 10-round shutout over resolute but overmatched Kirstie Bavington (7-4-2).

From a former coalminers town in South Wales where she was raised by her grandparents, Price won a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics, the first boxer from Wales to achieve this distinction. It earned her an audience with King Charles III who presented her with a prestigious medal. Tonight, the 28-year-old southpaw achieved another milestone.

Other Bouts

In an entertaining match with a regional 140-pound title at stake, Belfast southpaw Sean McComb successfully defended his belt with a 10-round unanimous decision over Kaisee Benjamin. The judges had it 97-94, 97-93, and 96-95.

McComb (16-1, 5 KOs) has one of boxing best nicknames: “The Public Nuisance.” Benjamin, who was fighting on his home turf and went to post a small favorite, came on strong in the last two rounds, but it was too little, too late. He falls to 16-3-1.

In a match between feather-fisted middleweights, Tyler Denny, a plumber by trade, nipped Macauley McGowan, winning a split decision. The opponents of Denny (17-2-3) and McGowan (17-4-2) have more than 900 losses between them.

In a lightweight affair, Cori Gibbs, a local man, avenged his lone defeat while advancing his record to 18-1 (3) at the expense of Tommy First (14-2). Gibbs was awarded six of the eight rounds.

In their first meeting in December of last year, Firth was returned the winner by a 76-73 tally after Gibbs had a point deducted for spitting out his mouthpiece on each of three separate occasions, without which the match would have theoretically ended in a draw. That was a major upset as Firth, who began his pro career at age 36, was 41 years old.

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