BN Preview: Following a career-best performance, Josh Kelly is given a fight that makes very little sense

BACK in December it appeared as if Josh Kelly had made one thing of a breakthrough. Boxing for 12 rounds as easily and as confidently as he has as far as a professional, he managed to deal with the stress of preventing in Newcastle fairly beautifully en path to outscoring native north-east rival Troy Williamson. His reward for such dominance was the British super-welterweight title, beforehand held by Williamson, in addition to the satisfaction of seeing lots of the individuals who had beforehand fled his bandwagon, following a 2021 loss in opposition to David Avanesyan, awkwardly crawl their method again in direction of it, with the remnants of humble pie unfold throughout their mouth.

It is a disgrace, subsequently, that given how brilliantly Kelly boxed that evening in Newcastle, and the way a lot momentum that win over Williamson produced, he is again once more this Saturday (July 15) in a fight that possesses nothing of what made the final one so significant and compelling. Instead, Kelly, together with his British title for now at dwelling, will return to Newcastle to field unknown Argentine Gabriel Corzo, whose look in England this weekend will probably be his first outdoors his homeland. That, in itself, tends to be a purple flag in conditions reminiscent of this, as does the actual fact that Corzo, for all of the prettiness of an 18-0 professional file, has recorded simply three stoppages amongst these 18 wins.

Of course, that’s to not say Corzo can’t fight, or punch, nor is to say he received’t turn out to be a kind of unknown South Americans who travels to Britain and causes probably the most sudden of upsets. However, on paper, which is all we’ve to go on by way of this fight, Corzo basically represents the sort of opponent Kelly would have been preventing in between Avanesyan and Williamson – that is, again when he was rebuilding his confidence and popularity – and may, in a super world, not be the opponent in opposition to whom he makes an attempt to construct on the current momentum he has impressively gathered.

Still, the fight is made now and that’s all there is to it. Given the unknown ingredient, too, maybe it could possibly be stated that Kelly’s greatest hazard right here is complacency, of which he has been a sufferer prior to now. For this newest fight, not like the Williamson one, comes with neither the identical buildup nor expectation. It additionally in some ways lacks the identical hazard, which, in accordance with boxing historical past, can result in issues for the person anticipated to win.

That man, on this case, is most actually Kelly. At 13-1-1 (7), he has, outdoors of this fight, been matched powerful as a professional since day one and has obtained each classes and expertise as a results of this schooling. A draw in opposition to Ray Robinson, as an illustration, taught him lots about travelling abroad and the necessity to get busy in shut fights, whereas the aforementioned loss to Avanesyan was the catalyst for Kelly not solely transferring up in weight – going from welterweight to super-welterweight – however searching for out a psychologist to assist him get his messy and complex thoughts so as.

Now 29 years of age, he is somebody who has needed to mature quick, each as a boxer and as a man. He is additionally somebody whose expertise shine brightest when he is up in opposition to a risk, or when his again is in opposition to the wall, as was the case in opposition to Williamson seven months in the past. That evening many feared for him, and lots of picked in opposition to him, but Kelly was fired up and imperious from spherical one, proving too fast and intelligent for his comparatively easy opponent. It was billed beforehand as a fight Kelly couldn’t presumably lose and by no means as soon as, from the ringing of the primary bell to the ringing of the final, did that appear to be a risk.

The identical could possibly be stated for his sixteenth professional fight this weekend; albeit stated earlier than a bell has been sounded. For Corzo, regardless of his unbeaten file and the unpredictable monitor file of Argentineans in Britain, mustn’t have something Kelly has not already seen and labored his method round earlier than. Moreover, given Corzo’s obvious lack of energy, this could actually be a fight Kelly targets as one wherein he can plant his ft, rattle by his in depth repertoire of punches, and make a assertion by the use of an early stoppage.

On the Newcastle undercard is a way more aggressive fight between super-featherweights Qais Ashfaq and Liam Dillon, who will probably be contesting the vacant British title.

Ashfaq, 12-1 (5), has received 5 fights in a row since shedding his solely fight as a professional in opposition to Marc Leach in 2020, though three of these crushed opponents had shedding data. Indeed, Ashfaq’s finest win throughout that run was a fourth-round stoppage he secured in opposition to Ash Lane, the Bristolian who lately received an English title at bantamweight.

Dillon, in the meantime, is unbeaten as a professional at 12-0-1 (3) and lifted the English super-featherweight title with a 10-round majority determination win over Dennis Wahome in 2021. The single blotch on his copybook got here within the fight earlier than that title win, when Youssef Khoumari, additionally undefeated, held him to a 10-round cut up draw.

Outside of the evening’s title motion, there will probably be alternatives in Newcastle for flyweight prospect Chloe Watson, 5-0 (0), who fights Laura Belen Valdebenito, 5-4-1 (2), and heavyweight Steve “Drago” Robinson, 6-1 (4), who fights Franklin Ignatius, 5-0-1 (1).

Finally, Troy Williamson, 19-1-1 (14), the previous British super-welterweight champion Josh Kelly dethroned final yr, will get again on the horse in opposition to Ramiro Blanco, a journeyman from Nicaragua with a 19-23-3 (10) professional file.