Buatsi, a Rio 2016 Olympic bronze medalist, is currently training in the US under Virgil Hunter. However, he has only fought once in the past year and a half, stopping Craig Richards in May.
“Joshua needs to make up for lost time. We are negotiating a contract extension, we want him to stay with our company, and I think he sees it the same way. He has not fought for a long time, and we want to arrange a fight for him as soon as possible. He's in for some great fights right now. If Beterbiev makes a mandatory defense with Callum Smith, Joshua could face Bivol,” Hearn said.