On a night of domestic light heavyweight contests in Manchester on DAZN, JOSHUA BUATSI takes on Zach Parker in a classic crossroads fight at the top of the bill.
Having both lost once and yet to fulfil their early potential, it will be a long road back to this level for the loser at this stage of their careers and it is a 'must-win' fight for them both.
Buatsi hasn't quite lived up to the hype as a professional after picking up a bronze medal at the 2016 Olympics games and his career has been a real slow burner. Still, he was 19-0 (13 early) and the favourite going into his clash with Callum Smith earlier in February, but he dropped a unanimous decision in a Fight of the Year contender.
A former world champion, Smith outworked and outlasted Buatsi in a ding-dong battle to hand the latter his first loss. While Buatsi showed plenty of heart and resilience that night, it did highlight his stamina issues which were also exposed in his decision victory over Willy Hutchinson the time before. After starting very well, Buatsi faded late on.
At 34, it's now or never for Buatsi and he needs a win here to get him back into world title contention, as it is hard to see where he goes if he loses. He is the 2/9 favourite but that may be a little disrespectful to Parker, who can be backed at 9/2 but has relished the step up to 175lb in recent years.
Also on DAZN, Britain's Jordan Thompson steps up to heavyweight as he travels to Orlando to take on the highly-regarded LENIER PERO.
Thompson (15-1) hasn't been seen since being knocked out inside four rounds by IBF cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia in September 2023. There is no shame in losing to the best in the division but it was very one-sided, and it is hard to know where he stands now after so long out of the ring.
And that's before you consider that he is going up in weight and taking on a smart operator in Pero, who has been spoken about as possibly being Cuba's first professional heavyweight champion.
The unbeaten Pero hasn't moved at pace since turning professional in 2019, only fighting 12 times (eight early), but he has looked good when he has been in action and clearly has plenty of ability.
Like Opetaia, Pero is a southpaw and a heavy-handed one at that, with three of his last five bouts ending in the opening round. Hence why he is just 1/4 to make it career win number 13 and just 4/7 to do so by stoppage.
It's hard to see Thompson (4/1) causing an upset after so long out of the ring and taking on the big boys for the first time now, so he could be in for a tough night. I like Pero and I fancy him to get the job done in style, with the 2/1 available about him winning in the opening half of this 10-rounder making plenty of appeal at 2/1.
Posted at 2055 GMT on 31/10/25
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Both of these like to go for the knockout and they carry power, but I expect Marshall to have too much on her return to boxing and the 4/1 about her getting a stoppage looks too big to me.