Troy Williamson (19-0-1) makes the second defence of his British super welterweight title this Friday against North East rival Josh Kelly (12-1-1).
Darlington’s Williamson carries the gold into this bout, as he worked his way to become mandatory challenger for the British title and won the belt emphatically when he stopped Ted Cheeseman in the tenth round of a thrilling contest in 2021.
Williamson defended his belt in an exciting clash with Mason Cartwright to kick off his 2022, ‘Trojan’ would survive an early knockdown to come back and take the win on points. Williamson has picked another victory in 2022, as he stopped David Benitez in six rounds in September.
Sunderland’s Kelly continues his rebuild since his sole defeat in his career to David Avanesyan at European level. ‘Pretty Boy’ was set to return in May this year, but his opponent would pull out on the day of the fight. Kelly soon got his return date, as he would stop Peter Kramer in four rounds.
Kelly’s next fight took place in the North East in July, and Williamson was in attendance. Kelly laboured to a unanimous decision victory over Lucas Bastida to set up the North East derby between himself and the British champion.
Following Williamson’s victory in September the bout was confirmed. The pair met at a press conference, and all seemed respectful, although Kelly attempted to make his opponent jump during the face-off.
Williamson carries power as he enters this bout with 14 knockouts out of his 19 victories, leaving him with a 70% knockout ratio. Kelly, who spent the early part of his career high up on high profile bills following his performance in the 2016 Rio Olympics, has a 50% knockout ratio, with seven knockouts.
These two warriors collide this Friday night at the Utilita Arena, and can be watched live and free on Channel 5 from 9 pm.