Kelly set for ‘home’ fight after victory
Josh Kelly will get the chance to strut his stuff in the North East next month.
The Sunderland boxer, a winner over Spain’s Jony Vina at the weekend, will be the main attraction when Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom stages a Sky Sports-televised show in Newcastle on, Saturday, June 23.
No formal announcement has been made yet, but the event is likely to be part of the JD Nextgen series, which features some of the country’s up and coming talent.
And they don’t come more more talented at the moment than the 23-year-old.
Slick, skilled and superb, Kelly has already chalked up victories at two of Britain’s biggest cities.
The latest came on Saturday in Birmingham where he clinched the first stoppage win of his professional career.
Kelly took a midge’s fingernail over 10 minutes to halted Spaniard Jony Vina in an explosive fourth-round finish at the Barclaycard Arena.
Boxing for the second time in the paid ranks, Kelly carried on from where he left off in his debut in Glasgow against Dublin’s Jay Byrne.
His customary handsdown approach was in evidence as he outboxed the 33-year-old, who had lost only once in his career - and had never been stopped.
The end came when Kelly found success with a left-right hook combination which sent Vina crashing to the floor.
Vina got back up and took an eight-count from referee Sean Messer, but it proved only a temporary interruption.
The Rio Olympian produced a torrid attack, with the ref stepping in at one minute 27 seconds of the session.
Kal Yafai retained his WBA world super-fly weight title when he outpointed Suguru Muranaka.