Joshua Buatsi viciously knocked out Daniel Blenda Dos Santos in four rounds to retain his WBA International Light-Heavyweight title at the AO Arena in Manchester.
The fight took place live on Sky Sports in the UK and on DAZN in the US and more than 200 countries and territories.
The former Olympian won the battle of undefeated 175lbs contenders with a brutal overhand right which slumped his rival to the canvas two minutes and 44 seconds into the fourth session.
Buatsi had veteran trainer Virgil Hunter in his corner for the first time and the resounding result puts him on a collision course with the division’s best.
“I hope he’s okay,” Buatsi told Matchroom. “We’ve seen this happen to many fighters. You box someone they say you’re levels above and it’s a banana skin situation.
“I’m glad I handled it. The most important thing is I hope he’s okay. We’ve seen these type of fighters come and cause upsets recently.
“I was adamant it wasn’t going to happen to me. I’m glad it went well.
????️ "Keep your head up Champ, I wish you all the best" – @boxingbuatsi consoles Daniel Dos Santos post-fight ????#BuatsiDosSantos pic.twitter.com/JGhSW5q0Ql
— Matchroom Boxing (@MatchroomBoxing) May 15, 2021
JOSHUA BUATSI GYM
“I remain optimistic all of the time in the moves that I make and this is one of them. We will have a week or so off and then we’re back in the gym to keep building.
“Going in we had little footage of him. Usually you can watch who you’re going to fight to get a feel. He looked very good in the one bit of footage we had of him.
“I had to learn round by round what he was like.
“Virgil gave me the perfect instructions and I followed them. I haven’t got here by being given it. The little that I’ve earnt, I had to work hard for it.
“I thank god for everything that we’ve got but I work hard for it. When I step in that ring it’s a dog mentality. This is a fight. I’m here to take everything.
“We’re here to win but we’re not here to hurt anyone. The time that we’re in the ring, yes, we want to win, and we want to entertain. We’re not here to hurt anyone in the long-term.”
