sport news Joshua Buatsi can prove he's the real deal in a genuine acid test against Craig ... trends now

Prior to Dmitry Bivol shocking the world in Las Vegas last weekend, there were many citing his less-than convincing win over Craig Richards last year when building the case for a routine Canelo Alvarez victory.  

The Mexican pound-for-pound star - who had blasted his way through the super-middleweight division, who had previously stepped up to 175lbs before to dethrone an admittedly over the hill Sergey Kovalev and who had already beaten taller opposition in Callum Smith - would surely be too good for a fighter who failed to make an impression against Craig Richards, right? 

Wrong. The Russian made the iconic Madison Square Garden stage his dance floor as he waltzed his way to an historic victory, with Canelo falling at the first hurdle after embarking on a new journey to light-heavyweight domination. 

Of course, the excuses flooded in: Canelo was never a light-heavyweight, Bivol was just too big; there were even some arguing the Mexican's switch to veganism left him flat and without knockout power.  

But, while there are perhaps elements of truth in those statements, certainly the first two, anyway, the reality is that Bivol was simply too good. And with that, Richards - who fell to a competitive points defeat to the WBA champion last year - gained newfound respect overnight. 

Now, on Saturday night, he and London rival Joshua Buatsi go toe-to-toe in an enticing domestic showdown suddenly deemed more competitive than it once was, with both fighters pushing towards a world title shot in a 175lb division littered with killers. 

While there certainly has been a paradigm shift in the perception of Richards' abilities, it's knockout-specialist Buatsi who remains the overwhelming favourite to prevail at the O2 Arena. 

It was he who came out on top when the pair met as amateurs in 2014, albeit in a bout both insist no longer holds any significance. It was also he who went down the Team GB route, defying all prior expectation to claim a bronze at the 2016 Olympic Games. 

And it's he who has the backing of Eddie Hearn and Anthony Joshua, who is trained by world renowned coach Virgil Hunter and who is tipped by many to be one of the next big stars in British boxing. 

The 29-year-old - once described by Hearn as the 'nicest, most dangerous person you could ever meet' - has rather cruised to 15-0 since turning professional in 2017, with only two of his hapless opponents to date hearing the final bell. 

It was only in his most recent outing, against Ricards Bolotniks last August, that Buatsi went past seven rounds, as he knocked the Latvian out in the 11th round of a momentum-building victory.  

After dispatching of an impressively tough, genuinely live opponent, Hearn insisted it was now Buatsi's turn to take on Bivol, stating 'Britain has another world champion right here'. 

But with Bivol occupied by Canelo, and with Richards bouncing back from defeat with a stoppage victory over Marek Matyja in October, a deal for the London pair to square off in a thrilling encounter was reached. 

Buatsi, who has on numerous occasions outlined his intention to win a world title in 2022, admitted at their March presser that he now needed to up his level of opposition. 

'I'm at the point where I want to fight these guys, I want to get into these big fights,' he said. 'May 21 is the first stop and when we handle that, we deal with whoever is next.' 

Richards, on the other hand, insists the moment has come later than it should have for Buatsi, believing the light-heavyweight has had an easy ride to date. 

'He's been played safe,' he said during their recent face-off. 'Guess what there's no safety caps on. May 21st, we find out.'