Talented welterweight David Avanesyan took out a bloodied Josh Kelly on Saturday night, costing his trainer a tidy sum in the process.
Avanesyan stopped Kelly in six rounds at The SSE Arena, Wembley, to retain his EBU European Welterweight Title, live on Sky Sports in the UK.
Sunderland’s Kelly suffered his first professional defeat at the hands of Avanesyan, the relentless Russian champion, who forced Kelly’s trainer Adam Booth to throw in the towel after two knockdowns in a punishing sixth round.
Avanesyan had been made to wait for Kelly, with the fight twice postponed, but his sustained assault broke down the 26-year-old’s resistance, with British rival Conor Benn watching from ringside as part of the Sky Sports team.
“I feel very, very good,” Avanesyan told Sky Sports afterward. “I waited a long time for this fight. Putting a lot of hard work into this fight.
“I came to join my coach and my manager from another country. I’ve had long spells away from my children. I miss them. I haven’t seen my children, my parents, and my friends, for a long time.
“Thank you to my team and the English fans for giving me this opportunity.
“Thank you to Matchroom. They put on the number one best show. I’ve had many big fights against Shane Mosley and Lamont Peterson’s likes, but this one with Matchroom is number one.
“I am thrilled. Thank you to god for my win today. Thank you to my manager and my coach.
“Carl (Greaves, coach) sacrificed a lot of time with his family for my training. He has been my friend, my driver, and my coach.
“I don’t like to speak too much. This is business. I know Josh is fast. I’m fast too. Boxing is difficult.
“When you lose, many people think you are finished. This is boxing. You go down. This is life. I will wake up tomorrow morning a champion.”
JOSH KELLY BET
Greaves said: “I told everybody this would happen and they all thought I was a crazy coach who knows nothing. I knew exactly how it was going to go.
“I’ve spent over five years with David now, and I’ve seen so much. I’ve seen all of these talented kids keeping him off for a certain amount of time, 30 seconds to a minute. But he finds a way every time. I was so confident in this fight.
“I knew it was going to go like that. I’m a bit gutted because I had £500 on round seven!”
The odds on Josh Kelly being taken out in the sixth were still 16/1 despite looking worse for wear due to a cut eye and one to the back of his head in the fifth.
WBN Editor Phil has over ten years of boxing news experience. Follow WBN on Twitter @WorldBoxingNews.
