Josh Kelly is on the road to proving Eddie Hearn’s decision to move on after one loss was a mistake after a winning return.
The wait was finally over as the Liverpool crowd stood to cheer Kelly back to the squared circle for the first time in over a year.
The fluid and natural boxing that Kelly has been renowned for showed no sign of rust as the Sunderland man looked even more focused and spiteful than he had previously.
His opponent, Peter Kramer, had shown up to become a banana skin and use his durability and experience to spoil the party.
This was certainly not the case, as Kelly wore the Hungarian down with a blend of speed, movement, and some hard-hitting uppercuts that inevitably saw the referee wave off proceedings in the fourth round.
Josh Kelly
“Nothing replicates fight night – training for it, traveling away to arenas, preparing in the changing rooms. Nothing replicates it,” said Kelly.
“Round after round, I could feel myself getting sharper, and I started reading him better. I wanted to put a statement out there with my jab, and it worked well tonight to break him down to the point he started taking a few too many shots.”
“I was saying to Adam (Booth) that I will land a right-uppercut on this guy. When they started landing and doing the job, I thought if he’s going to sit there and take it, then I’m just going to keep giving it to him.”
“He goes the distance with heavier guys normally, like Super-Middleweights. To hurt him, and make him physically shaken, shows what strength and power I carry at 154lbs.”
Chloe Watson avoided any slip-up in her homecoming fight as the city of Liverpool cheered her on to victory. Watson’s opponent, El Bousairi, had been described as a very game opponent all week and someone to push the young fighter. It was an accomplished performance that saw Watson get over the line with a 59-56 points win.
Aaron Chalmers
Elsewhere on the card, it was a successful debut for Aaron Chalmers as he passed the test with a 39-37 points victory over Alexander Zeledon.
There were plenty of signs to show the potential of Chalmers and his entry into the sport, with the former Geordie Shore star looking comfortable in heavier gloves, having swapped the cage for ropes.
Undercard Results
Mason Cartwright def. Angel Emilov via points, 80-72
Matty Harris def. Pawel Strykowski via first-round KO
Paddy Lacey def. Ryan Broten via first-round TKO
Tom Farrell def. Olaide Fijabi via points, 58-57
Tom Aitchison def. Ezequiel Gregores via fourth-round TKO
Gadatamen Taylor def. Marcos Molloy via points, 48-47
John Edwardson def. Stefan Nicolae via points, 42-36
