Get your devices ready; we’ve got a double header in British boxing this weekend. In Manchester, the headliner is a domestic dust-up between Joshua Buatsi and Willy Hutchinson for a vacant light heavyweight crown, while in London, the main event is an all-England clash as Chris Billiam Smith faces Cheavon Clarke. And, of course, we’ve got some undercard action covered too.

So, with no further ado, let’s get our boxing tipster Matt Gipon‘s picks!

This Weekend’s boxing tips

9pm: Jack Rafferty v Hovhannes Martirosyan – Rafferty to win in round 7-9
9:15pm: Denzel Bentley v Shane Mosley Jr – Mosley Jr via points or decision
10pm: Chris Billam Smith v Cheavon Clarke – Billam Smith to win in round 6-10
10.30pm: Joshua Buatsi v Willy Hutchinson – Buatsi via points or decision

*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change.

TV: DAZN

Jack Rafferty, 31, has come a long way in a short space of time. Once fighting on small-hall shows, he’s now a world-rated welterweight following his impressive win over Ekow Essuman in May.

Opponent this Saturday, Belgium’s Hovhannes Martirosyan, 34, is a tough, capable boxer. However, he may lack the power to trouble the division’s top contenders, despite having only one loss on his record, a ninth-round stoppage defeat to Pierce O’Leary in 2024. However, that might hint at when Manchester’s ‘Demolition Man’ could get his eighth stoppage win in nine fights. If the man in the opposite corner has any chink in his armour, Rafferty will find it with his relentless attacks, so I’m backing the Brit to win late on.

TV: Sky Sports

There is nothing on the line, but this is a fun fight. Both Denzel Bentley, 31, and Shane Mosley Jr., 35, have made their names in exciting bouts, and in a weak middleweight era, the winner won’t be far off a world title shot. These men are late bloomers at similar levels, but their attributes differ. Bentley has 18 of his 22 wins by knockout, while Mosley has a lower KO ratio, and he makes up for what he lacks with heart and desire.

Until this year, Mosley Jr. was considered a decent fighter on the fringes of the world’s top 20, but in May he scored the biggest win of his career by stopping Ukrainian dangerman Serhii Bohachuk in six rounds. I think Mosley can take Bentley’s power and do enough to edge a decision.

TV: DAZN

It’s been a long and winding path for both Chris Billam-Smith and Cheavon Clarke since their first fight 10 years ago in the amateur 2016 English National Championships Final. Clarke won that fight and eventually went to the Olympics in 2021, but it was ‘CBS’ who became cruiserweight champion of the world.

After two title defences, Billam-Smith came up short when he tried to become unified champion against Gilberto Ramirez, but he’s back on a two-fight winning streak. It’s been a hard career for the 36-year-old Bournemouth man, but he still feels he has plenty to give.

‘C4’ hasn’t had things his own way either — in 2024 he was beaten for the first time as a pro, and then in his very next fight he lost to domestic rival Viddal Riley for the British title. However, in June, Clarke, 35, recorded his best win to date by stopping former European champ Jack Massey in six rounds.

Dig a little deeper, though, and Chev’s weaknesses are apparent: Massey dropped him twice and was ahead on the cards, and Leonardo Mosquea floored him too. Clarke is strong, but he lacks snap, and I think Billam-Smith will enter exchanges confident he will land the telling blows. My tip is for ‘CBS’ to win rounds 6-10.

TV: Sky Sports Main Event

Olympic bronze medallist Joshua Buatsi was tipped for professional glory when he turned pro, but after more than nine years this is his first shot at a world championship. willy Hutchinson got his license right around the same time as Buatsi, but the Youth World Boxing Champion is five years his opponent’s junior.

Now, one will get their hands on a title. These two actually met in the ring for the first time in 2024. Hutchinson’s speed and creativity matched Buatsi’s strength and fundamentals, but the Croydon Olympian scored knockdowns in the sixth and ninth rounds before sealing the victory on the cards. There’s no love lost between the pair. A recent face-off at a promotional event ended with Buatsi throttling Hutchinson after losing his cool during the war of words. Come fight night, I expect both men to be raring to go but also focused and controlled. 

Hutchinson enters the Manchester Arena this Saturday two years wiser and better than the first fight, but the same can’t really be said for Buatsi. The man from South London was outclassed by Callum Smith in 2025, then scraped past Zach Parker by the finest margins last November.

But the biggest indicator of Buatsi’s stagnation is that he hasn’t stopped an opponent in five years. Hutchinson will be confident, and he will win rounds, but I think his chin will betray him, and he’ll be dropped or hurt again. Buatsi will go into the fire if he needs to, and he has a habit of doing just enough – I expect him to snatch another close win, and the belt, by decision.

This Weekend’s boxing tips

9pm: Jack Rafferty v Hovhannes Martirosyan – Rafferty to win in round 7-9
9:15pm: Denzel Bentley v Shane Mosley Jr – Mosley Jr via points or decision
10pm: Chris Billam Smith v Cheavon Clarke – Billam Smith to win in round 6-10
10.30pm: Joshua Buatsi v Willy Hutchinson – Buatsi via points or decision

*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change.