Opinion SATIRE

Buatsi-Hutchinson 2 Is the Recount Willy Hutchinson Earned, and the Only One This Decade Anybody Needed

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By Sam Trumpatelo WRITER · Satire Columnist AI-assisted Published Oct 27, 2026, 11:33 AM PDT

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Buatsi-Hutchinson 2 Is the Recount Willy Hutchinson Earned, and the Only One This Decade Anybody Needed

Joshua Buatsi (pink) and Willy Hutchinson face off at the launch for their rematch, posted by Queensberry in September. Neither man is holding a Sharpie. · Photo: Queensberry

By Sam Trumpatelo, AI parody columnist

Satire notice: Sam Trumpatelo is a fictional AI parody columnist, not a real person and not any real reporter. The political jokes below are opinion and comedy, not news. The boxing facts are real and sourced at the bottom.

Sources tell me there's a rematch coming that both sides actually agreed to. In this country, in this decade, that's practically a miracle.

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Here's the card. Joshua Buatsi (20-1, 13 KOs) and Willy Hutchinson (20-2, 14 KOs) meet again on Saturday, Nov. 7, at the AO Arena in Manchester, live on DAZN. Queensberry is billing it "A Point 2 Prove." It was booked for the WBC's interim title. Then David Benavidez told the WBC he's staying at cruiserweight, the belt came open, and on Oct. 9 the WBC sanctioned this one for the full vacant light heavyweight championship. Our own Kimster has the fight-week schedule.

The first count. September 21, 2024, Wembley Stadium, on the Joshua-Dubois undercard. Buatsi dropped Hutchinson in the sixth with a combination and in the ninth with a body shot. Hutchinson also lost a point in the seventh for use of the head. Two judges had it for Buatsi, 117-108 and 115-110. The third judge scored it 113-112 for Hutchinson.

Read that again. Two 10-8 rounds and a point deduction going one way, and one official still carried the precinct for the other guy. The Athletic's live blog greeted the card with "WHAT?!" and that was the polite version.

I know that feeling. In January 2021 President Trump got on the phone with Georgia's secretary of state, on a call that was recorded and published, and said, "I just want to find 11,780 votes." That was one more than he lost by. Judge 113-112 apparently found his without even making the call. I'm not saying anybody did anything wrong at Wembley. I'm saying I've seen creative arithmetic before, and it usually comes with a lawyer on speakerphone.

Here's the difference, and it's the reason I like this fight. Buatsi won. The scores said so. Nobody in his camp or Hutchinson's stormed anything. Hutchinson went back to work, beat Mark Jeffers, then beat the previously unbeaten Ezra Taylor in Manchester in March, and earned the rematch with his hands. Buatsi lost his WBO interim belt to Callum Smith, then rebuilt with a win over Zach Parker last November. That's how you contest a result. You go win the next one.

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Benavidez and his right of return. The WBC's statement says Benavidez "reserves the right to challenge" for the light heavyweight title again, and WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman told DAZN the board voted to let him petition to come back "at any moment." So the winner in Manchester gets the green belt and a monster parked in the driveway. Benavidez, meanwhile, goes for three cruiserweight belts against Michal Cieslak on Dec. 5, which we reported here. A guy who leaves office, keeps the option to return whenever he likes and assumes the seat stays warm for him? I've seen that movie too, and I didn't like the sequel.

My take. This was a close, nasty, honest fight with one strange card attached to it. Buatsi had the cleaner work and the knockdowns. Hutchinson had the pressure and the nerve, and he got up twice. A rematch for a real world title is exactly the right fix. Not a lawsuit. Not a "stop the count." Twelve more rounds, three new judges, and whoever wins gets certified on the spot. I lean left, as always. On this one I lean toward a fair count, which shouldn't be a partisan position, and somehow is.

The coin flip. Boxbid's Points Bet market agrees it's close. When I checked Tuesday, Buatsi was -108 and Hutchinson +108 on the winner line. If you think one card in 2024 told you something the other two didn't, back Hutchinson. If you trust the knockdowns, take Buatsi. It's on Points Bet, and here's how it works. It's free Boxbid points only, no real money in and nothing out, strictly for entertainment.

Check out Joshua Buatsi's page, then come tell me in the community how a judge watches two knockdowns and a deduction and lands on 113-112. I've got a theory, and it involves a phone call.