A big night for Josh Kelly?
To be fair, all fights involving the undefeated Sunderland talent are big nights.
But there seems to be a little more riding on this evening’s appearance on Matchroom USA’s event in Arizona, where he faces Wiston Campos.
The 10 round contest at the Talking Stick Resort is the 25-year-old’s first appearance since retaining his WBC International welterweight belt against Ray Robinson at Madison Square Garden in June.
Given some of the panning Josh has received from armchair boxing fans and keyboard warriors, perhaps Talking Stick Resort Arena should be re-named Taking Stick.
Kelly appears to have been written off by all and sundry on the basis of his performance against the very difficult and very capable American southpaw.
It ended in a majority draw in the Garden, Italian judge, Guido Cavalleri, had Kelly 96-94 up with the two American officials, Frank Lombardi and Waleska Roldan, scoring it 95 apiece.
Punch-lines agreed with Mr Cavalleri though several observers had Robinson up on their cards. Each to their own I guess.
But it has been incredulous to see some of the panning ‘Pretty Boy’ has received.
Robinson was, or we should say is, a leading welter who had gone into the bout in the aftermath of a draw with Egidijus Kavaliauskas.
For Kelly, it came only 40 days after he had gone 10 rounds at the 02 with Poland’s Przemyslaw Runowski.
Even if the sylish Sunderland boxer was not firing on all cylinders, it was not a bad performance, nor was it a defeat.
Tonight won’t be a walk in the park for the Adam Booth-trained boxer who is moving toward a European welterweight championship showdown with David Avaneysan in the spring of 2020.
Campos knows his way around the square ring.
The Nicaraguan has only lost six times in 43 bouts, one of those six losses coming at the hands of Josh Taylor for the World Boxing Council’s Silver light-welterweight title.
The 27-year-old has won 19 times inside the distance so he will be a man to be respected by Kelly who is chasing his 10th pro victory.
In the headline bout Daniel Jacobs begin a new chapter in his career with a debut at sup[er-middle against Julio Cesar Chavez Jnr.
Sky Sports will screen the show in the UK with DAZN doing likewise in North America.
Words: Roy Kelly Picture: Ed Mulholland/ Matchroom
