Josh Kelly will battle former 154-pound title holder Liam Smith at Wembley Stadium on September 21st in a middleweight battle that will support the Anthony Joshua vs. Daniel Dubois IBF heavyweight title fight. At the press conference to anounce the fight, Kelly, who is promoted by Wasserman Boxing, said, "Firstly, I want to thank [the financiers of the show] His Excellency [Turki Alalshikh], Riyadh Season and Spencer Brown, a big thank you... I'm a big 154-pound fighter so 160 will suit me.  I have nothing but respect for Liam, he has had a great career, he put Liverpool on the map - him and his brothers - and there is no bad blood between us, it's just business. Stylistically it's one of the best match-ups on the card." Kelly is 15-2-1 including the World Series of Boxing. He's won five straight, including the British 154-pound title, since a 2021 loss to David Avanesyan. This will be Kelly's first fight at middleweight.

Kelly's promoter, Kalle Sauerland, Head of Global Boxing at Wasserman, said: "Yet again, the Riyadh Season, the global takeover, delivers. We've just got our breath back from the undisputed clash [Olekansdr Usyk vs. Tyson Fury] and 5 vs 5 [headlined by Zhilei Zhang vs. Deontay Wilder], and now this, a historic card, the best card ever in Britain. The main event [Josjua vs. Dubois] is absolutely gigantic, but Kelly vs. Smith, could steal the show.  Yes, it is the right time to fight Liam, at the right weight.  People who are around the scene, know of Josh Kelly's potential and this is his time to shine, in front of 90,000 people at an iconic venue But it's not about this being the right time to fight Liam, it's Josh's time. [Trainer] Adam Booth has done a fantastic job, this man is on fire.  I believe this fight will steak the show."

Smith, coming off a loss to Chris Eubank Jr. and 33-4-1 overall, said: "This is a great fight on a huge card.  It's a fight that not many people thought about but now it's announced, they can see it's an interesting fight. My focus is on Josh Kelly; I am massively confident of winning.  Josh and Adam probably feel like they are getting me at right time.  Fighters have made that mistake before, and they are doing the same thing. Josh has got to step up at some point and this might be his right time, but people have thought they are getting me at the right time before, like Anthony Fowler did after I fought in Russia.  I feel refreshed now, we have long enough to go, this has lit the fire in my belly.  Big respect for Josh and Adam, but business is business."