Hall of Fame promoter, Frank Warren, has made a dramatic double swoop at 175lbs to secure the signatures of former WBO Interim light-heavyweight champion Joshua Buatsi and newly-crowned European king Bradley Rea.
2016 Olympic medalist Joshua Buatsi (19-1, 13 KOs) is a former WBO Interim, European, British and Commonwealth light-heavyweight title holder, and Bradley Rea (21-1, 10 KOs) won the EBU belt in his last fight in June.
Warren was elated with his new business dealings, “I am delighted to bring Joshua on board with us at Queensberry and to showcase him on DAZN. The light heavyweights possess so much quality, and Josh will be a major mover in the division and right in the mix for world title contention.
“When Bivol and Beterbiev settle their trilogy sequence the division should open up and there will be massive fights to be made. There is also the Benavidez-Yarde world title fight coming up in Riyadh and Josh will be a natural candidate to take on the winner.
“In the meantime, we will keep Josh busy and ready for the major challenges, with regular activity being something he has lacked in recent years.”
On signing a European light-heavyweight champion, Frank commented, “Brad is fully deserving of this opportunity to shine on a major platform in DAZN. I greatly admire the way he stuck at it and kept himself ready when nothing really was happening for him, through no fault of his own.
“Sometimes it takes a little while for fighters to find their optimum weight and Brad is clearly now a force at light heavyweight, emphasised by his recent European title success.
“The light heavyweight division is booming with so much talent and great matches to be made. Brad will now be part of this, and I am looking forward to getting him going.”
Joshua Buatsi
The 32-year-old from Croydon suffered a first professional setback in February when he lost his Interim world title to Callum Smith in a stirring encounter that will come into strong consideration when ‘fight of the year’ contenders are determined.
The Riyadh reverse has not diminished the stock of the Ghanaian-born 175-pounder, who secured his WBO Interim honours with a defeat of Scotsman Willy Hutchinson at Wembley Stadium on the Joshua-Dubois card last September, having previously overcome European champion Dan Azeez seven months earlier to win British and EBU belts.
“After speaking with multiple promoters, Queensberry has a plan I’m comfortable with,” explained Buatsi. “I’m a British fighter, and the support I get from UK fans means everything.
“There’s nothing like fighting in front of a home crowd – the energy, the passion, it drives me. With Queensberry, I’ve got a team that understands that and backs me properly here in the UK.
“At the same time, their international links mean I can still make moves in the US and globally. Most importantly, they’ve got the right plan for my career – not just big fights, but the right fights, at the right time as I’m on the journey to become a World Champion.”
Bradley Rea
The 27-year-old won his EBU belt via a unanimous decision over Shakan Pitters at the end of June after previously suffering a series of misfortunes with opponents dropping out at short notice.
Rea, known as ‘The Sting’, jumped up two weights – largely campaigning at middleweight since making his debut in 2018 – following his English title points defeat to Tyler Denny in late 2022.
While awaiting a meaningful opportunity, the Manchester man recorded five straight stoppage victories, with only one of them making it into the third round.
Now, with the currency of his European title and the backing of Queensberry, Brad will be seeking to test himself at the highest level.
“I am excited because I feel like I am finally at the stage I belong at,” said Rea. “I’ve been wanting to be on these big shows, big platforms and in fights against big names.
“I feel like Frank and Queensberry can deliver that for me. So, I am excited about the future, definitely. This is the place to be, especially for the light heavyweights. I want to be in the big fights against the best names, and this is part of the reason why I was so eager to sign with Frank.
“He can deliver the big fights, and he can deliver the big names.”
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