THE LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS take centre stage at the Co-op Live in Manchester on Saturday night, live on DAZN, when Joshua Buatsi will take on Zach Parker for the right to press forward into world title contention.
The show also features the European title confrontation between Manchester lads Brad Rea and Lyndon Arthur, plus Liam Cameron going up against Troy Jones and Billy Deniz taking on Ezra Arenyeka.
The fighters, along with promoter Frank Warren, came together to exchange some final words at Circle Square in the city and below are a selection of key quotes from this media event.
Frank Warren
“It is a big night on Saturday and we’ve got a great main event. We had a fantastic show last week and the heavyweight division is alight, as I keep saying, and the same is going to happen with the light heavyweight division.
“There are brilliant fights to be made and there is a big show in Riyadh on November 22 and that main event between Benevidez and Anthony Yarde. Those two guys are in one of the best fights out there and everybody sitting at this table is looking at that, all eyes are on it.
“They are looking towards that because they are jockeying for positions to challenge the winner of that fight. That is what makes it so exciting.
“We’ve got Joshua Buatsi, who has just signed with Queensberry, fighting Zach Parker, who has been with Queensberry for a long, long time now, in a real, real good quality fight.
“These two guys know exactly what is in front of them. They want a big fight in 2026 and the winner will get that big fight. So we are going to get something special, really special.
“The other light heavyweights all know what they can achieve, what they can get to, and every one of them is in a competitive fight.”
Zach Parker
“This is a massive fight and a thousand other boxers would jump at the chance to be here at this place. I am really looking forward to it, I’ve put a lot into this training camp to headline in Manchester, live on DAZN. I am buzzing for it.
(On Buatsi being favourite) “It is all just outside noise, it doesn’t affect me whatsoever, I’ve just got to go in and do a job.
“It is obviously a new weight class for me and I have only boxed once at it, but I feel like I have proper grown into it. I was a massive super middleweight and it is easier to make the weight now with another half stone.
“Looking at this whole card, it is a massive division at the minute, especially in Britain and there is no better place to be than Queensberry.
“I believe I can knock anyone out if I land with the shots I think I can land with. Not just Joshua Buatsi, any of these guys up here. But, if it comes to a 12 round fight, I am ready for that as well.
“Like I say, I have put a lot into training and I am hungry, I am really hungry. I’ve got another baby on the way and I need to provide for my family.
“I think it is a must-win fight for both of us. The winner goes on to fight in massive fights.”
Joshua Buatsi
“I am excited. The first press conference was two or three months out and I wasn’t that excited, but now we’re less than two days away, so I am ready for it.
“It is a fight that I know I must win, a fight I have prepared very hard for and I am looking forward to.
“A fighter that is ambitious makes him dangerous. Parker seems very ambitious so he will be a dangerous fighter. It is for me to go in there and handle business.
“I wouldn’t say I am looking to send out any reminders, I am looking to win.”
