Josh Kelly W12 Troy Williamson... Sunderland, England's Josh Kelly’s (13-2-1 including the World Series of Boxing) dethroned Troy Williamson (19-1-1, 14 KOs) for the British junior middleweight championship on Friday. Kelly outboxed Williamson en route to a unanimous decision, scored 118-110, 119-109 and 119-111 by the judges. The fight was shown live on England's Channel 5 from the Utilita Arena in Newcastle. Kelly was loose and fluid from the opening bell, both defensively and offensively. The left hook from Kelly caused problems throughout the night as it often landed flush. followed by a right uppercut, which proved to be a winning combination.
Williamson never once backed down from the uphill task of trying to keep his belt. After being dominated in the first round, he was immediately back off his stool to step towards ‘PBK’ and look to shut him down. Kelly proved to be far too switched on for Williamson to land any substantial blows however as the Sunderland man remained confident in circling his opponent from the outside.
The performance from the new champion, Kelly, was epitomized in the fifth round as a left hook and right hook had Troy scrambled for a moment. With a slight quiver in his opponent’s legs, Kelly was in no rush to blindly seek a finish. He remained aggressive and aware of any opportunity to present itself, but this was a different fighter existing in his own bubble on the night and he remained in control of his emotions and dictated the bout.
More highlights came for Kelly in the seventh round, as he employed a Muhammad Ali rope-a-dope style evasion. His confidence carried him in full control all the way towards the end of the fight as he remained calm, cool and collected with every second of every round.
With questions regarding his gas tank being asked in the build up to this fight, the eleventh round answered them all as Kelly opted to stand between rounds and pace around the ring. He was still spritely, and still so loose and active as he pulled out another tried and tested left hook with a right uppercut. Another mainstay in the fight was Kelly’s movement, constantly snapping jabs at lovely angles to then use his footwork to slide out of the way and leave Williamson turning to find him once again.
UNDERCARD RESULTS:
Lyndon Arthur defeated Joel McIntyre via stoppage in the second round...
Franklin Ignatius defeated Hosea Stewart via referee's decision, 58-56...
Joe Laws defeated Alexander Zeledon via referee's decision, 39-37...
Ben Marksby defeated Santiago Garces via referee's decision, 59-56...
Katharina Thanderz defeated Edina Kiss via referee's decision, 78-75...
Sheila Martinez defeated Jordan Barker-Porter via referee's decision, 60-54...
Ewan Mackenzie defeated Angel Emilov via referee's decision, 40-36...
Bobby Dalton defeated Joel Banderas via referee's decision, 40-37...
Travis Waters defeated Eligio Palacios via referee's decision, 40-36 and...
Adam Reichard defeated Claudio Baldomir via referee's decision - 39-38.
