Josh Kelly must quell a Tornado if he is to breeze into world contention at his new weight.
The Sunderland boxer has been matched with South American middleweight champion Lucas Bastida in Newcastle on Saturday, July 30.
It will be the second appearance for his new promoters live on terrestrial TV, with Channel 5 showing the action from the Vertu Motors Arena, or Eagles Arena in old money.
‘Pretty Boy’ has operated against some world class opposition in his welterweight days, notably David Avanesyan and Ray Robinson, but this will be his first serious test at light-middleweight.
Bastida comes to the North-East as South America’s middleweight champion and will see this as a route into the world scene himself.
The 25-year-old Argentine has won 18 and drawn one of his 20 bouts with his last five fights all championship bouts.
The boxer, known as ‘El Tornado’ won the South American belt in late 2020 and has enjoyed four successful defences, his most recent in May, a second-round KO at the Diego Armando Maradona sports centre in Buenos Aires, no less.
Kelly says he is aware of how hard a challenge his opponent will be.
“He is a tough South American who has plenty of experience for a fighter who is 25-years-old,” said Josh, who registered his 11th career win last time out against Peter Kramer in Liverpool.
“To only have one loss on his record shows how tough he is, there’s no doubt he’ll be coming to win.
“He’s someone who is going to give me the hard rounds I need to get back into the mix for big fights and major titles.
“It’s very much the same from me though – I’m coming to show my class and I’ll be looking to get him out, 100 per cent.”
The clash with Bastida looks a fascinating one and one which can’t be taken for granted by Kelly and trainer Adam Booth.
‘El Tornado’ has not only prospered at middleweight, he also stands 6ft 1in, giving him a height and reach advantage over the 5ft 10in Kelly.
While respectful of the 28-year-old’s ability, Lucas is not fazed about an 8,000 mile journey to the UK to take him on.
“He’s a good boxer and very fast,” he said. “I saw in his fight against Avanesyan that he got knocked down, and then he got stopped, so I think the key to victory will be to go to war from the beginning of the fight,”
The show will mark a first fight in his home Toon for Aaron Chalmers.
Ex-MMA fighter and reality TV star Aaron enjoyed a good pro debut last month on Wasserman’s show in Liverpool, where he outpointed Alex Zeledon over four rounds.
Words: Roy Kelly Picture: Wasserman
