Following Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez’s loss to WBA light-heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol, the boxing world’s focus remains on the division when two of Britain’s top 175lb talents, Joshua Buatsi and Craig Richards, go head-to-head live on DAZN (except Australia and New Zealand).
With both men having links to South London, the tension has ramped up ahead of this domestic showdown at London's O2 Arena, but when speaking exclusively to DAZN, Richards was just happy to finally be stepping in the ring with a British rival.
“I think it’s amazing, two of the best finally fighting, putting all the arguments aside and the speculation,” Richards said.
“We get to see who’s who and it’s great for the fans.
“It’s what the fans want to see, what they pay their money for to finally see fights like this and we’re getting it on.”
While Buatsi has been slowly built up by his team to a 15-0 record, Richards has had to cut his cloth the hard way in the pro ranks and, unlike Buatsi, has tasted what it’s like to fight at world title level.
Just over a year ago, Richards challenged WBA 175lb champion Dmitry Bivol behind closed doors in Manchester and while he did lose on all three of the judges’ scorecards, there was plenty of positives for the man known as ‘Spider’ to take from the fight.
When reflecting on the fight, Richards cited the odd surroundings and his mentality for his performance on that May night in Manchester.
“I don’t know if it was me and Bivol being in the same fight week hotel together, eating breakfast, lunch and dinner, the mentality wasn’t there as much with the spite.
“It felt like a friendly spar, in the fight we’re touching gloves after every round, I came away from that and thought ‘I can’t do that again’.”
After losing a world title fight, some fighters hit rock bottom and think their chance in the spotlight will never come again, but for Richards, it was crucial that he bounced back from the loss to Bivol and made a statement.
The 32-year-old did exactly that, beating Poland’s Marek Matyja with a sixth round stoppage last November which confirmed to Richards himself that he was still a force to be reckoned with inside the ring.
“Going in with a guy like Matyja, his 25th fight, never been hurt, never been put down, never been stopped before, just two losses on split decision which was arguable against a guy who was 15-0 with 12 KOs, to go in there and know I’ve still got that killer instinct to get him out of there, it was great!”
Saturday night will not be the first time Buatsi and Richards have gone head-to-head, the pair met in the 2014 South East London ABA Final which Buatsi won on points, but a lot has changed since then.
Buatsi has gone through a full Olympic cycle and now trains with Virgil Hunter, while Richards has cemented himself as one of the country’s best light heavyweights, this fight feels like a natural come together for two men who will be looking to push on for a world title shot with a win on the bank of the River Thames.