With Katie Taylor set to fight Jessica McCaskill in London on Wednesday James Copley examines a promising Sunderland-born welterweight fighting on the undercard.
So, who is Josh Kelly?
At 23 years-old Kelly is one of Britain’s most exciting young prospects a point emphasised by the setup around him.
The 5-foot 8-inch fighter is trained by Adam Booth and managed by Eddie Hearn’s promotional juganought – Matchroom.
The 2016 Rio Olympian’s talents have already attracted sponsorship in the form of JD Sports, impressive considering “Pretty Boy” has fought just four times professionally.
Pic Lawrence Lustig
And in those four bouts Kelly boasts a 75% knock out ratio having stopped Jony Vina, Tom Whitfield and Jose Luis Zungia.(fight pic above) Sunderland-born Kelly will fight Jean Michel Hamilcaro on the Taylor-McCaskill undercard in York Hall, Bethnal Green; a fight that sees Kelly step up a level.
“I believe he (Josh Kelly) needs to be tested early on because I’ve seen already what he can do,” Booth said to Sky Sports.
“The next 12 months are going to be very exciting for him with some big steps.”
Hamilcaro has won his last three bouts including a split decision win over Lenny Bottai to win the vacant IBF Mediterranean Super Welterweight Title.
Although Hamlicaro possesses more ring experience than Kelly with 36 professional fights; there’s little doubting that the Frenchman is a stepping stone along the road to bigger things for Kelly.
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