The future of the welterweight division

By Boxing News - 12/08/2017 - Comments

Image: The future of the welterweight division

By Damian Poole: When one thinks of the who might be the future of the welterweight division, champions such as Errol Spence, Keith Thurman, Terence Crawford or even Santos Saúl Álvarez Barragán spring to mind. Well that is all about to change. There is a new boy in town and I can bet many of you have not even heard of him. He goes by the name of Josh “Pretty Boy” Kelly aka PB.

The British public need a British boxer in the welterweight division to spark some interest since Brook has moved up to Super welterweight and Amir Khan or should I say Amir Khandashian seems to spend more time on reality TV shows than inside the ring. I believe the 23 year-old from Sunderland, England is just the man to capture the imagination of the British public.

With 4 successful fights under Josh’s belt, 3 of which came about by stoppage since turning pro in April this year with another bout scheduled in December. That’s 4 fight is 8 months, I don’t know of any other welterweight who is currently fighting that many opponents in such a short time. But Josh Kelly’s fast rise to stardom is not what is capturing all the headlines. It is his fighting style.
Have you ever heard of “Flow State”? For those who are not familiar. According to Mihály Csíkszentmihályi, A positive psychologist. Flow State is known for what you experience in that moment, defined as an “optimal state of consciousness where one feels at our best and performs at our best.” The ego falls away. Time flies. Every action, movement, and thought follows inevitably from the previous one, like playing jazz.

Flow State, the boxing style Josh Kelly has adopted and mastering is a spectacle to behold. Watching Josh slipping, dodging, ducking and being able to read and predict his opponents next move is awe inspiring to witness. When you hear the infamous quote from Muhammad Ali “flies like a bird, stings like a bee” it could not be more adept in Kelly’s case. Josh reminds me of Vasyl Lomachenko with a dash of Joe Calzaghe’s charisma, the speed of Prince Naseem Hamed and the looks of a young Tom Cruise. My words can not convey how elusive Josh can be in the Flow State zone, he even make Neo from The Matrix look slow and awkward.

Josh Kelly’s first bout was against Irish boxer, Jay Byrne on the 15th of April scheduled for 6 rounds. From the get go it was clear to see that Josh was in another league against Irishman, making Jay look like a amateur. Although the fight lasted the full 6 rounds, I believe if it was a 12 round bout, Jay would not of seen the finale bell as he was just getting out-worked in every round.

Kelly’s next fight was against the Spanish boxer, Jony Vina on the 15th May, again scheduled for 6 rounds. Just as with Jay Byrne, Josh’s boxing ability and superior skills were apparent half way through the first round. Josh was able to tee off on the Spaniard, using his awkward body angles and head movement to confound his opponent with little in the way of response. Two minutes into the 3rd round was especially impressive from Kelly. He was able to anticipate Jony Vina’s now predictable body movement, highlighting Kelly’s Flow state skills, weaving, slipping and dodging the Spaniard punches. Round 4, Kelly dropped Jony with a flash knockdown only for the ref to end the fight seconds later when Josh unloaded a barrage of punches with Jony now in survival mode backed up on the ropes.

Josh’s 3rd fight was against fellow Englishmen Tom Whitfield on the 23rd June. To be honest it will take you longer to read this paragraph than it did for Josh to dispatch Tom. From the start, Josh was standing in front of Tom with his arms down by his side in the Flow State zone and poised to attack. Josh used his head to dodge the incoming jabs from Tom as if there were telegraphed a week in advanced. Josh’s first punch snapped Toms head back, followed up with more head jerking jabs, pushing Tom back to the ropes and that’s when Josh knocked Whitfield down with 6 consecutive left hooks to the head. The fight was over within the first minute.

Josh’s last opponent was against the Mexican Jose Luis Zuniga on the 21st October. Zuniga was a step up in class from Kelly’s previous opponents with a record of 16-2-1-7 KO’s. But that didn’t seem to matter regardless as Josh stamped his authority in the ring straight away. Landing some devastating uppercuts followed by a furious combination to the head and body, nearly knocking the Mexican out only to be saved by the bell. The 2nd round continued the same as the 1st round, Josh apply a lot of pressure on the Mexican. At this point Jose Luis was taking more and more unnecessary punches to the head and that is when the ref stepped in and stopped the fight. Some people think fight was stopped to early. But me personally, I believe the ref made the rite call. Jose Luis Zuniga was taking a lot of punishment but not growing any thing back, he was about to get seriously hurt.

Josh Kelly’s next fight is against Frenchman Jean Michel Hamilcaro. This fight was originally scheduled on the undercard for the David Haye vs Tony Bellew fight. But due to David sustaining yet again another injury the fight is now scheduled for December 13th on the undercard of Katie Taylor’s first WBA title defence against American Jessica McCaskill.

This time next year I expect Josh to be a major name in the welterweight division with the help from his promoter Eddie Hearn. Love or loathe Hearn he is the right man to guide Josh’s career towards a successful future and becoming a world champion. With help from a world class coach, Adam Booth who has trained other successful British world champions like David Haye and George Groves. Josh Kelly will no doubt be holding one of the belts currently owned by our comrades across the pond.