“I just walked in the door; The two of them had just returned from kindergarten. Dad’s life is good, you know. I do everything for these two little boys – everything. That’s why I’m doing this, for these boys and for me ‘ma’am…’
It’s only been five years since I last spoke to Josh Kelly (10-1-1, 6KO), and back then, things were very different. He is still with his wife (now) Remy, but the couple have yet to become parents and are not married. Now, they rarely blink an eye, with their two sons running wildly, enjoying the fruits of their parents’ labor, stronger as a unit.
Back then, before stopping Tom Whitfield at Walker Dome in Newcastle, Kelly focused on beating steady friends Mitchell Smith and Charlie Edwards in computer games, FIFA or Call of Duty from memory. And he snuck out of the common room to chat with this writer, while snarling and snarling through the Adam Booth detachment’s living quarters. Ambient noise is still present – although the culprit has become significantly younger.
After destroying an overwhelming Whitfield with a series of beautiful left hooks, Kelly remained undefeated. That has also changed. He suffered defeat after finally meeting his nemesis, David Avanesyan, slashed, bled, and stopped in the sixth round of a viewing contest. Now, Kelly is preparing to launch the second phase of her professional career: a rebirth.
While facing more detractors than before, he feels lucky to be fighting in front of terrestrial TV audiences on Channel 5, after signing with Wasserman Boxing ahead of Sauerland. On May 13order, he returned, fighting underdogs in the British middleweight title match between Denzel Bentley and Linus Udofia, but form was temporary, and class was permanent. His opponent is Xhuljo Vrenozi, a tough Albanian above his level.
“My wish has not changed. I still believe, I believe I will win the world title, 100%. It’s a matter of when. If I can take the right steps forward, at the right time, do the right things with my support network etc. There’s no reason not to,” the 28-year-old explained.
“I am flying at the moment. I feel like I’m in one of the best places I’ve ever been and things are going. I was ready to fight late last year, but things have changed. Obviously Channel 5 went live, so I thought, ‘Why not wait and see? A few months won’t hurt. ‘ Channel 5 is huge terrestrial television, so I could have waited for that opportunity too, and I did it. ”
“This is huge, and I thought I would take that opportunity. Eddie [Hearn] offered us to ‘extend my contract’. I looked at that deal and put Channel 5 against it, and Wasserman’s offer was the best for me personally. Sometimes you need to be selfish in this game, and I just wanted to move on and I accepted that [offer]. ”
While his profile and number of family dependents may have changed, his thick Northeast accent has not. Kelly remained the same way of saying ‘everyone’, using “partner” and “brother” when speaking to the media. He’s been doing this for years now, but hasn’t lost his warm, welcoming nature, laughing along with questions and searching for answers on his own. Maybe part of that youthful, inexperienced passion is gone, but that’s boxing, isn’t it? The warriors begin to understand the dark trade and subtly swallow unsolicited items, failed promises, and unanswered phone calls. You can only trust the process so far. It soon served its own expiration.
“A lot of things were happening around [Avanesyan] fights, but as a boxer, you never mention those things. Because no one wants to hear an excuse, you know what I mean? Only those close to us really knew what was going on. When starting out, you just need to keep people close to you. You keep moving forward, you keep your feet on the ground and keep your spirits high. The immediate thing is, the people there around us’, they’re trying to help us’ back. I mean, I have a lot of personal things to deal with; I had to go out and get that work done, and then it was like, ‘Right, you lost. The good people of this sport are gone. ‘ And you just keep going. ”
“A lot of people…” Kelly hesitated for a moment, “Ach, I’m not sure. I’ve never really looked at it that much. I never saw what people were thinking or the way they looked at us. ‘ I try and keep myself a single direction, me. Keep yourself away from opinions. People’s opinions can break your mind; You have to believe in yourself.”
“People’s opinions mean nothing if you believe in yourself, and until you’re done, all has been said and done. It’s like the man in the mirror. You have to look in the mirror and say, ‘Have you done everything you need to do to reach your full potential, have you tried your best?’ If I could say so, what regrets would I have? You cannot live with regrets. No. The way I see it, people can think whatever they want of me, but I describe myself as a slick boxer who just wants to have fun. That’s it.”
The defeat for David Avanesyan, painful and unexpected for Kelly last February, prompted the former Commonwealth champion to refocus. It was a tough lesson to learn, when stopped mid-way through and suffered from unacceptable ‘I told you so’ words from the British boxing media. But he went to the other side.
“Sometimes there can be hiccups – and there have been. Everyone seems to be avoiding Avanesyan now and I’m the only one boxing him, which tells you something. It stands for something. Not much has changed. Something. I didn’t get as far as I did by not doing what I’ve always done. There are a few things that have to be added and a few things that have to be taken out, everything is in balance, it feels good in the gym, working out is good. You know the saying, ‘A happy warrior is a dangerous warrior?’ Is me.”
Kelly continued: “If I’m having fun, I’m one of the deadliest fighters of the night. I started planning quickly and now I want to get back to where I know I can, quickly. He [Avanesyan] is an outside world championship contender, and I’ve boxed in a few of them that have been in my career and haven’t really been credited for it. I fought Carlos Molina, Ray Robinson, I won the Commonwealth title in my seventh fight. I’ve moved so fast that I think people just hope that we keep getting past these kids. ”
They did. we did. And maybe, so is Kelly. Boxers wear invincible capes – they have to. But once it is torn and the illusion is broken, they will reveal themselves. And even though Josh Kelly didn’t make excuses, scream from the top of a mountain or declare injustice, he was still injured. The difference between Kelly and some prospects – despite differing public opinion – is that he understands the sport of boxing. And while understanding that life after boxing can be fraught with trouble, the North East’s talent stumbled upon something quite unique.
“We are in a good position right now. We’ve just been verified on Instagram, so people know who we are and we just won South East England Player of the Year, so we don’t play in that type of field either. We’ve had our ups and downs, man, and this year could be an important one for us. He was talking about his catering venture, Burgers, Wings & Ribs, an idea that came from friend Jack Shaw and backed by fighter and co-investor, Neil Austin. Shaw bought a used double-decker bus and assembled it, and the rest is history.
The trio is flying, and Kelly couldn’t be happier with her progress outside the ring: “Things are going in the right direction. Jack, he’s the one driving the business, he’s got everything sorted out, really. I do a lot of things on social media, help with branding, networking through my name and stuff, and it can be huge. We’re on the cusp of something truly amazing. This year could be a big one. Obviously when you box, you can’t have food. So when you’re done, you look for the best food to have, you know what I mean? This is up there”.
For now, though, it’s dieting and punching. With Vrenozi within touching distance of this Friday, ‘PBK’ will return to focus and enthusiasm for its future. It was refreshing to hear him talk about how hungry he was back then, when he had never put food on his plate. He knows what that feels like now and he’s waiting to be fed again. Stopping calling anyone out, he admits that one person he wants to share the ring with is fellow Northeasterner, boxing cult hero, ‘Sandman’, Lewis Ritson.
“I want to fight in the Stadium of Light. There will be a potential derby there with Lewis Ritson if he wants to step up. He can gain weight, I can lose weight; you haven’t seen any of those derbies in football, so it’s a great thing we can do there. If that happens in the future it will, but certainly be, a future Stadium of Light fight. Early. The next few years.
“It would be unreal. I miss the north, I miss Sunderland. I feel like Sunderland is my city, the city where I grew up, the city where I learn everything and where my family lives, my mom and dad. My kids and I ‘she’s down here, my job’ is down here, so this is where I stay. But it’s nice to wake up to visit Sunderland and go watch a football game once in a while. I just love it. ”
While he faces a good test this weekend at London’s O2 Arena, Kelly knows what’s around: “I think in the next year or two I’ll be busier and that’s a step forward. good progress. Basically, fight accordingly, move forward and make those strides towards world titles. Anything less [isn’t good enough]. In amateur sport, I’ve reached the top by going to the Olympics and there’s no reason why I can’t do it like a pro. I have a good professional style and with a little tweaking here or there, I can do it. I know I can.”
Towards the end of the call, I was reminded how much time had passed. Around the commotion, screaming children, his wife Remy holding the fort. The youngest of his two sons, he explained, “had some fire in his stomach”. Josh Kelly is no longer the spotless golden boy of the GB Olympic season, he has the experience, the responsibility and has to convince himself that he is back at the top of the table. However, he has something to fight for now, something real. A father, a husband, a homeowner, a businessman. A guy from Sunderland is still living his dream. Still a fighter.
Picture: Leigh Dawney / Wasserman Boxing
