Willy Hutchinson was crowned the WBC light-heavyweight champion after he produced the performance of his career to beat Joshua Buatsi in Manchester.

Hutchinson, 28, edged the tense rematch with the judges scoring it 117-112, 115-113, 115-113 to avenge his defeat by Buatsi in 2024.

Saturday's contest was initially for the interim title but was upgraded when American David Benavidez gave up the WBC gold to move up to cruiserweight.

Scotland's Hutchinson and Londoner Buatsi met for the second time, just over two years after the Londoner earned a split-decision win in a thrilling first contest, but this time it was Hutchinson who came out on top as he improved his record to 21 wins with two defeats.

It was a childhood dream come true for Hutchinson, who said before the fight he wrote about his dreams of becoming a WBC champion at the age of 13.

Buatsi looked a shadow of the fighter who put Hutchinson on the canvas twice in their first meeting, seeming short of ideas on how to catch the slick Scot.

Ticket sales were modest for a world title fight as it was clear that it did not capture the attention of the British public. But those inside made the atmosphere as raucous as possible, with the Manchester crowd favouring Hutchinson.

And they were delighted when the result was read out and Hutchinson became the eighth British light-heavyweight champion - the first since Nathan Cleverly in 2017.