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Kelly Masterclass Crowns Him British Champion
Last night, it was Josh Kelly’s (12-1-1, 7 KOs) world and we
were just living in it. A flawless performance from the
Sunderland man saw him make light work of a tremendously
gifted opponent in the dethroned Troy Williamson (19-1-1, 14
KOs). However, the British Super Welterweight Championship
is making its way to Sunderland with ‘PBK’ after a truly
phenomenal performance, scored 118-110, 119-109 and119-111
by the judges, live on Channel 5 from the Utilita Arena,
Newcastle.
Kelly was consistently in a ‘flow state’ from the opening
bell as he was loose and fluid both defensively and
offensively. It was as predicted by fans and pundits as
Williamson wasn’t quite prepared for the quick start and
vicious speed possessed by his opponent. The left hook from
Kelly caused problems throughout the night as it often
landed flush whenever thrown, followed by a right uppercut,
which proved to be a damning combination.
Williamson never once backed down from the uphill task of
trying to keep his belt and close down Kelly. After being
dominated in the first round, he was immediately back off
his stool to step towards ‘PBK’ and look to shut him down.
Kelly proved to be far too switched on for Williamson to
land any substantial blows however as the Sunderland man
remained confident in circling his opponent from the
outside.
The mature performance from the new champion, Kelly, was
epitomised in the fifth round as a left hook and right hook
had Troy scrambled for a moment. With a slight quiver in his
opponent’s legs, Kelly was in no rush to blindly seek a
finish. He remained aggressive and aware of any opportunity
to present itself, but this was a different fighter existing
in his own bubble on the night and he remained in control of
his emotions and dictated the bout.
It was more otherworldly moments from Kelly in the seventh
round, reincarnating into Muhammad Ali 2.0 briefly as the
rope-a-dope style evasion had the arena in awe. His
confidence carried him in full control all the way towards
the end of the fight as he remained calm, cool and collected
with every second of every round.
With questions regarding his gas tank being asked in the
build up to this, the eleventh round certainly answered them
all as well as the fact he opted to stand between rounds and
pace around the ring. He was still spritely, and still so
loose and active as he pulled out another tried and tested
left hook with a right uppercut. Another mainstay in the
fight was Kelly’s movement, constantly snapping jabs at
lovely angles to then use his footwork to slide out of the
way and leave Williamson turning to find him once again.
In the final round, the Channel 5 commentary team declared
this a masterclass from Kelly, which it absolutely was.
There was nothing that could have been done on Williamson’s
part last night with the type of fighter he faced in front
of him. Credit to Williamson who will certainly be back and
incredibly likely to hold the Lonsdale belt again having
suffered his first defeat in the professional ranks. For
Josh Kelly, this is the beginning of something special.
Josh Kelly
“The performance felt that smooth, and that much like it was
the way it was supposed to go, I’m saying to Adam “Can you
snap me out of this dream”. That was support from all sides
tonight with some Middlesbrough fans, some Newcastle fans
and some Sunderland fans; but the North East turned out.
This British title means so much to me, oh my god, all that
hard work’s paid off baby!”
“What gas tank? That’s cancelled. I feel like I can go and
do another five or ten rounds there. I boxed to
instructions, boxed clever, boxed safe, boxed tidy and
didn’t take no risks; and that’s what the outcome turns out
like. Troy was meant to come and do a demolition job on me,
he’s a hard-punching knockout artist in the Super
Welterweight division. There’s a new name now, there was
always the name actually, but it has come into play now.
Josh Kelly, baby."
"A massive happy birthday to my trainer Adam Booth as well.
Massive respect to Troy and all his team and fans too, all
that online stuff is just online stuff. We’re cool, Troy’s a
very hard and strong competitor, but I want to take the time
to thank everyone who has stuck behind me and been loyal. My
dad, my mum, my family; everybody man.”
“Thank you Channel 5 and everyone for all their support.
Merry Christmas everyone, we’re going to have a good one
this year.”
Kalle Sauerland
“There’s good boxers, there’s very good boxers, and then
there’s special boxers. I’m so proud of Josh, all those
critics had their words stuffed right back down their
throats after them 12 rounds tonight. The sky is the limit
for him, like Adam (Booth) said, he’s not just good he’s
special. There’s a reason why there was so much hype
surrounding him at the beginning of his career; the hype
train is back on.”
“It's going to be an amazing journey next year, we’re just
very excited. I want to enjoy tonight first but there’s huge
domestic fights available to us, this is world level though.
What we saw tonight was world class. This has been a long
time coming, tonight he proved all the doubters wrong in the
best possible way. I’m so proud of him, and Adam, absolute
professionals in the way they’ve gone about it as always.
What Josh did tonight was a masterclass against a very
dangerous opponent, do not underestimate him because he’ll
be back I’m sure; but Josh Kelly is special.”
Adam Booth
“I’ve said from the first day that he’s the most talented
fighter I’ve ever worked with. The only person who beat Josh
Kelly up until now was Josh Kelly, he had to overcome
monumental mental issues. We have now started to unearth the
potential that lies in this man; he is going to be something
special.”
“I’m only interested in working with the best, and he’s only
interested with being the best.”
Results and images from the Utilita Arena, Newcastle, as
Wasserman Boxing presented a night of live and free-to-air
boxing on Channel 5, Friday December 2.
Results
British Super Welterweight Championship:
Josh Kelly def. Troy Williamson via decision - 118-110,
119-109 and 119-111
Lyndon Arthur def. Joel McIntyre via stoppage in the second
round
Franklin Ignatius def. Hosea Stewart via decision - 58-56
Joe Laws def. Alexander Zeledon via decision - 39-37
Ben Marksby def. Santiago Garces via decision - 59-56
Katharina Thanderz def. Edina Kiss via decision - 78-75
Sheila Martinez def. Jordan Barker-Porter via decision -
60-54
Ewan Mackenzie def. Angel Emilov via decision - 40-36
Bobby Dalton def. Joel Banderas via decision - 40-37
Travis Waters def. Eligio Palacios via decision - 40-36
Adam Reichard def. Claudio Baldomir via decision - 39-38
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