Josh Kelly (boxer)

Last updated

Josh Kelly
Born (1994-03-07) 7 March 1994 (age 31)
Sunderland, England
Other namesPretty Boy [1]
Statistics
Weight(s)
Height5 ft 10 in (178 cm) [2]
Reach72 in (183 cm) [2]
Stance Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights19
Wins17
Wins by KO9
Losses1
Draws1
Medal record
Men's amateur boxing
Representing Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Great Britain
European Games
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2015 Baku Welterweight

Josh Kelly (born 7 March 1994) is an English professional boxer. He is a former British light-middleweight and Commonwealth welterweight title holder. As an amateur he competed in the men's welterweight event at the 2016 Summer Olympics and the 2015 European Games, in which he won a bronze medal.

Contents

Amateur career

Representing Great Britain, Kelly won a bronze medal in the 69kg category at the 2015 European Games in Azerbaijan, losing in the semi-finals to the host nation's eventual champion Parviz Baghirov. [3]

The following year he was selected for the Rio Olympics, where he lost in the round-of-16 to Kazakhstan's Daniyar Yeleussinov who went on to win the gold medal. [4]

Professional career

Kelly's first fight as a professional was a six rounds points victory (59-55) against Jay Byrne (4-1) of Dublin in April 2017 at the SSE Hydro in Glasgow on the undercard of Ricky Burns vs. Julius Indongo. [5]

Kelly won his next two fights in the next two months, defeating Spain's Jony Vila (6-1) and Gateshead's Tom Whitfield (4-1) by fourth-round stoppage and first-round knockout respectively. [6] [7] The Vila fight took place at the Barclaycard Arena, Birmingham in May whilst the Whitfield fight took place at the Walker Activity Dome, Newcastle in June, with his fight being the main event. [8] [9]

Kelly finished the year with a record of 5-0 after victories over Mexico's Jose Luis Zuniga (13-2-1) and France's Jean Michel Hamilcaro (25-8-3), winning by second-round stoppage and sixth-round stoppage respectively in October and December. Those fights took place at the SSE Arena, Belfast and the York Hall, London.[ citation needed ]

Kelly vs. Robinson

On June 1, 2019, Kelly fought Ray Robinson, who was ranked #13 by the WBC and #15 by the WBO at welterweight. Kelly was ranked #9 by the WBA at welterweight. The contest was even and ended up in a majority draw, with one scorecard going in favour of Kelly, 96-94, while the other two read 95-95 twice. [10]

Kelly vs. Campos

In his next fight, Kelly fought Wiston Campos. Kelly won the bout via unanimous decision. The scorecards read 99-90, 99-90 and 98-91. [11]

Kelly vs. Avanesyan

In his next fight, Kelly fought highly ranked welterweight David Avanesyan, who was ranked #6 by the IBF, #7 by the WBC, #9 by the WBA and #10 by the WBO at the time. Avanesyan showed to be the better man on the night and finished Kelly within six rounds. [12] [13]

Kelly vs. Williamson

Kelly won the British light-middleweight title by beating defending champion Troy Williamson by unanimous decision at Newcastle Arena on 2 December 2022. [14]

Kelly vs. Davis

Kelly was scheduled to face Liam Smith at Wembley Stadium in London, England on 21 September 2024. [15] On September 13, 2024 it was reported that the latter withdrew due to illness. [16] On 16 September 2024 it was announced that Smith was replaced by Ishmael Davis. [17] Kelly won by majority decision winning the two judges awarding the fight to him and the third scoring it as a draw. [18]

Kelly vs. Biea

At Newcastle Arena on 6 June 2025, he defeated Flavius Biea by first round stoppage. Kelly knocked his opponent to the canvas and, although Biea, got back to his feet, the referee decided he was not fit to continue and waved off the contest. [19]

Professional boxing record

19 fights17 wins1 loss
By knockout91
By decision80
Draws1
No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
19Win17–1–1Flavius BieaKO1 (10), 2:036 Jun 2025Newcastle Arena, Newcastle, England
18Win16–1–1Ishmael DavisMD12 21 Sep 2024 Wembley Stadium, London, England
17Win15–1–1Placido RamirezKO3 (12), 2:3816 Dec 2023 Beacon of Light, Sunderland, England
16Win14–1–1Gabriel Alberto CorzoUD1215 Jul 2023Vertu Motors Arena, Newcastle, EnglandRetained WBO International super welterweight title
15Win13–1–1 Troy Williamson UD122 Dec 2022Newcastle Arena, Newcastle, EnglandWon British light-middleweight title
14Win12–1–1Lucas BastidaUD1030 Jul 2022 Vertu Motors Arena, Newcastle, EnglandWon vacant WBO International super welterweight title
13Win11–1–1Peter KramerTKO4 (10), 2:3117 Jun 2022 Liverpool Arena, Liverpool, England
12Loss10–1–1 David Avanesyan TKO6 (12), 2:1520 Feb 2021 The SSE Arena, London, EnglandFor European welterweight title
11Win10–0–1Wiston CamposUD1020 Dec 2019 Talking Stick Resort Arena, Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.
10Draw9–0–1Ray RobinsonMD10 1 Jun 2019 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, USRetained WBA International welterweight title
9Win9–0Przemyslaw RunowskiUD1020 Apr 2019 The O2 Arena, London, EnglandRetained WBA International welterweight title
8Win8–0Walter Fabian CastilloTKO1 (10), 2:55 10 Nov 2018 Manchester Arena, Manchester, England
7Win7–0 Kris George RTD7 (12), 3:0016 Jun 2018 Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle, EnglandRetained WBA International welterweight title;
Won Commonwealth welterweight title
6Win6–0 Carlos Molina UD10 31 Mar 2018 Principality Stadium, Cardiff, WalesWon vacant WBA International welterweight title
5Win5–0Jean Michel HamilcaroTKO6 (10), 2:0613 Dec 2017 York Hall, London, England
4Win4–0Jose Luis ZunigaTKO2 (6), 1:4121 Oct 2017 SSE Arena, Belfast, Northern Ireland
3Win3–0Tom WhitfieldKO1 (8), 1:1923 Jun 2017Walker Activity Dome, Newcastle, England
2Win2–0Jony VinaTKO4 (6), 1:2713 May 2017 Barclaycard Arena, Birmingham, England
1Win1–0Jay ByrnePTS6 15 Apr 2017 The SSE Hydro, Glasgow, Scotland

References

  1. "The true Josh Kelly is no 'Pretty Boy'". Sky Sports. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  2. 1 2 Netherton, Alexander (2 December 2022). "What time is Troy Williamson vs. Josh Kelly tonight? Ringwalks, running order, streaming, how to watch". DAZN . Retrieved 2 December 2022.
  3. "Josh Kelly leaves Baku with a European bronze medal after tight defeat to home fighter". Chronicle Live. Retrieved 9 September 2025.
  4. "British Olympic welterweight Josh Kelly turns professional". ESPN. Retrieved 9 September 2025.
  5. "BoxRec". boxrec.com. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
  6. "BoxRec". boxrec.com. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
  7. "BoxRec". boxrec.com. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
  8. "BoxRec". boxrec.com. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
  9. "BoxRec". boxrec.com. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
  10. "Kelly vs Robinson - News, Tape, Ringwalk, TV, Streaming & Tickets". Box.Live. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  11. Christ, Scott (20 December 2019). "Liam Smith and Josh Kelly win on Jacobs-Chavez undercard". Bad Left Hook. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  12. "Avanesyan vs Kelly - News, Tape, Ringwalk, TV, Streaming & Tickets". Box.Live. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  13. "David Avanesyan vs Josh Kelly results as Brit loses unbeaten record to rampaging Russian". SecondsOut Boxing News. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  14. "Josh Kelly beats Troy Williamson to become new British light-middleweight champion". BBC Sport. Retrieved 9 September 2025.
  15. Rotich, Judy J. (25 August 2024). "Liam Smith About To Face Josh Kelly In A Crucial Middleweight Showdown". Athlon Sports Boxing.
  16. Stumberg, Patrick (13 September 2024). "Liam Smith falls ill, withdraws from Josh Kelly fight". Bad Left Hook.
  17. Iskenderov, Parviz (16 September 2024). "Ishmael Davis replaces Liam Smith to fight Josh Kelly on Joshua-Dubois undercard". FIGHTMAG.
  18. "Josh Kelly resists Ishmael Davis' onslaught to earn underwhelming win". Boxing Scene. Retrieved 9 September 2025.
  19. "Kelly calls out Benn after first-round stoppage win". BBC Sport. Retrieved 9 September 2025.