A cracking North East Derby heads a bill at the Utilita Arena in Newcastle on Friday evening, as Troy Williamson of Darlington defends his British super welterweight title against Sunderland’s Josh Kelly.
Channel 5 televise Williamson vs Kelly the UK, while Wasserman Boxing are on promotional duties.
Kelly (12-1-1, 7 KOs) has largely flattered to deceive as a pro after a stellar amateur career.
‘PBK’ did make a decent start, winning the Commonwealth welterweight title and a ranking building belt, before a surprising draw against Ray Robinson in June 2019.
Two fights later he was in with the dangerous David Avanesyan for the European title, and this time it was a step too far, as the Russian, who will soon fight WBO champion, Terence Crawford, ruthlessly stopped him in six rounds.
Kelly’s rebuild has been at 154 pounds, and after stopping Peter Kramer in four in June, he then won the vacant WBO International belt last time out with an uneventful points win against Lucas Brian Ariel Bastida.
The 28-year-old now faces a stiff test against the tall and rangy British champion Williamson (19-0-1, 14 KOs).
‘The Trojan’ won the belt in October 2021, stopping Ted Cheeseman in ten in a war, and has defended once since.
The 31-year-old overcame a knockdown to outscore Mason Cartwright in March, and then warmed up for the Kelly clash in September, stopping David Benitez in the sixth.
Prediction: This could be a really tasty affair, and I expect that Kelly will give Williamson a stern test. Ultimately, Williamson is a tough man to break down, and I fancy him to outlast Kelly and take a late stoppage victory.
Arthur returns
Lyndon Arthur is also on the card, and the Manchester light heavyweight takes on Joel McIntyre.
Arthur (20-1, 14 KOs) is continuing his comeback after a rematch stoppage defeat to Anthony Yarde, and made his Wasserman debut in September, stopping Walter Sequeira in six.
McIntyre (20-4, 5 KOs) is the English champion, and won the vacant title with an eighth round stoppage of Chad Sugden in July.
Prediction: Arthur can win inside schedule.
Darlington’s Ben Marksby (5-0) gets a decent test at super lightweight, and he should come though on the scorecards against Olaide Fijabi (16-5, 8 KOs).
At super welterweight, Aaron Chalmers (1-0) has his second pro outing, and he can see off Ryan Broten (0-1) potentially by stoppage as Broten was halted in the first round on debut.
In heavyweight attractions, Matty Harris (3-0, 2 KOs) should remain unbeaten with an early win against Jiri Surmaj (3-2, 2 KOs) and Hosea Stewart (2-0-1) can get a rematch win against Franklin Ignatius (4-0-1, 1 KO), with their original meeting ending in a draw.
In lightweight contests, former world title challenger, Katharina Thanderz (14-1, 2 KOs) can take a points win against Edina Kiss (15-16, 9 KOs), and Jordan Barker-Porter (5-1, 1 KO) can outscore Sheila Martinez (3-3, 1 KO).
