as 2016 English Olympian Joshua Buatsi will face MMA veteran Ryan Ford in the fourth defense of his regional WBA light heavyweight title<\/a>.<\/p>\nThe 26-year-old Buatsi (11-0, 9 KO), who claimed bronze in Rio while becoming the only light heavyweight to score more than one (T)KO, has wasted no time as a professional, spending no longer than three months (and one day, to be precise) between fights since his 2017 pro debut. He’s scored six consecutive knockouts, among them a four-round demolition of former world title challenger Marco Antonio Periban in June.<\/p>\n
Ford (16-4, 11 KO) went 22-5 as a mixed martial artist, ultimately retiring after a 2014 loss to former Strikeforce champion Jake Shields and returning to the squared circle. He got off to a 14-0 start, most notably taking a technical decision over onetime world title challenger Robert Berridge, but hit a wall when the competition improved. His current 2-4 skid includes losses to Fedor Chudinov, Andrey Sirotkin, Avni Yildrim, and Nick Hannig.<\/p>\n
To his credit, he’s never been stopped by strikes in MMA or boxing, so Buatsi does have a chance to score himself a unique accolade.<\/p>\n
Other fights on the card include Hughie Fury vs. Alexander Povetkin, Charlie Edwards vs. Julio Cesar Martinez, and Joe Cordina vs. Gavin Gwynne.<\/p>\n
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