Proud new dad Josh Kelly has waived paternity leave to return to the ring on the biggest night of Tony Bellew’s life.
The gifted Sunderland boxer takes on Argentina’s Walter Castillo in an international 10 round welterweight match on Saturday at the Manchester Arena, where Bellew brings the curtain down on his career with a world title showdown with one of the best pound-for-pound men on the planet, Oleksandr Usyk.
It will be Kelly’s first outing since June when he stopped Kris George to win the Commonwealth welterweight title at the Metro Radio Arena.
And the undefeated 24-year-old will be out again in just four weeks when he boxes on the undercard of Kell Brook’s IBF world welterweight eliminator against Michael Zerafa at the Sheffield Arena on Saturday, December 8.
The two bouts in quick succession will get Kelly back in a high gear ahead of a massive 2019 when trainer Adam Booth and promoter Eddie Hearn will be moving ‘Pretty Boy’ into world title reckoning.
And Kelly, one of the best movers in the business, will have an extra spring in his step on the Sky Box Office event after becoming a father for the first time following the arrival of Joshua Jnr, less than a week ago.
Any new dad’s head would still be in the clouds, but you can bet your last quid it will be firmly focused on Señor Castillo this Saturday. It will need to be.
Your punch-lines reporter has seen the 25-year-old dismissed on another website,
This great sport is all about opinions and that writer might be right and this fella wrong … I often am!
Castillo’s record would suggest he is no dummy. He has lost only twice and has never been stopped.
He won last time out with a KO of Pablo Battista as he bounced back from a wide points reverse to compatriot Diego Ramirez for the WBO Latin welterweight belt.
While it’s true he has ‘only’ two inside the distance victories to his credit and has never boxed outside Argentina, it is correct to note this is a huge opportunity for him to get himself up the boxing ladder.
Words: Roy Kelly Picture: Jennifer Charlton
