Kelly vs Williamson: The fight will be shown on Channel 5 in the United Kingdom – The main card is set to get underway at 4 p.m. ET / 9 p.m. GMT with the main event ringwalks scheduled for 6 p.m. ET / 11 p.m. GMT.
Troy Williamson wants “no excuses” from Josh Kelly after the dust settles on their British title fight.
Williamson puts his super welterweight belt on the line against Kelly in Newcastle on Friday night and has warned his North East rival that he is in “trouble”.
A confident Kelly has predicted he will dethrone ‘Trojan’ by knockout, but Williamson is at a loss as why his challenger believes he can stop him.
Instead, the champion has reiterated his long-held belief that he will wear Kelly down in the second half of the fight, questioning his opponent’s “heart” and resilience.
“All fighters are confident, and he believes in himself, so good luck to him, but I don’t have a clue why he thinks he’s knocking me out!” Williamson told Probellum.com.
“Maybe his mental coach is putting things into his head, and he is believing it.
“I’m just hoping for the best Josh Kelly on Friday night so that there are no excuses.”
“Josh cuts easily and I don’t think he has a huge heart,” he added.
“When it gets deep and tough, I think he will fold under the pressure. When the going gets tough, Josh Kelly gets himself out of there.
“Twelve rounds is a long time to box and move. I’m not stupid, I know he is going to be really, really tricky for the first four or five rounds, but once we get past them, then he is in trouble.”
During intense exchanges, when filming a face-off, Kelly said the pressure was all on Williamson, but the title holder dismissed the claims.
“Despite what he says, there is no pressure on me,” Williamson said.
“He’s put pressure on himself by saying he’s going to win by KO. But let Josh say what he wants because on Friday night, it’ll just be me and him in the ring, and let’s see what he says when he’s being punched in the face.”
Josh Kelly:
“It’s on. Fight week has started and I’m fired up and ready to go. A little bit of a light session today with non-contact stuff; I’ll save all the contact punching for Friday when I get that British belt.”
“I know what to expect from Troy, he’s a good fighter but he doesn’t present any new problems for me. I’ll be the best opponent he has come up against and he’ll be second guessing what things are going to be like.”
“For me, there have been plenty of Troy Williamsons that I have beaten before, and that will be the exact same outcome for this fight. And the new…”
Troy Williamson:
“His pedigree counts for nothing, you have to remember he was meant to next best thing since sliced bread. People always mention being in the Olympics but it’s irrelevant, he’s been found out before and I’ll expose him on fight night.”
“He’s always been a technical fighter but the questions still hang over him – can he swim when the water starts getting rough? I can turn this into a fight he won’t like, and when things get rough I don’t think he’ll know how to respond.”
“One of us is going to come out of this as the Super Welterweight hope for North East boxing. I can tell you now, it’ll be me.”
It was a media workout littered with local talent, as well as the main event of the evening in Kelly and Williamson. The media will have to wait one more day to address the likes of Lyndon Arthur in his clash with Joel McIntyre, as well as a rematch between the big heavyweights in Hosea Stewart vs. Franklin Ignatius II!
Lydon Arthur (20-1, 14 KOs) will be heading to the North East for the press conference tomorrow in Newcastle as he is back in the ring to face Joel McIntyre (20-4, 5 KOs) at Light Heavyweight, live on Channel 5.
‘King Arthur’ looks to build off his sixth-round dominant stoppage performance against Walter Gabriel Sequeira in Bolton back in September. He now steps up in opposition as he goes in hot pursuit of title challenge opportunities. With momentum behind the Manchester man, an electric Newcastle crowd will be in for a treat as they watch a hungry fighter on a mission.
The former Commonwealth and WBO Inter-Continental light-heavyweight champion, Arthur will have to prove he is title worthy by coming through the tough ‘El Toro’ in the form of McIntyre. The Portsmouth fighter will be looking to spoil Arthur’s ascendency and will be looking to lean on the additional rounds in his career to work out a masterplan to dethrone ‘King Arthur’.
The mouth-watering heavyweight battle between Hosea Stewart (2-0-1) and Franklin Ignatius (4-0-1, 1 KO) could easily contend for ‘Fight of the Night’ as both men will look to claim the first win of this saga, after the first fight ended in a draw last time out in Newcastle.
With both men yet to suffer a defeat, and a closely fought draw on their last visit to Newcastle, the ‘0’ must surely go this time as two young fighters look to put their name in lights on a huge Channel 5 card.
Stewart continues to go in search of his first knockout win of his fledgling professional boxing career as the 24-year-old will be looking to steal the limelight at “Judgement Night” in Newcastle. Ignatius will be coming to grab headlines of his own and add another knockout to his undefeated record.
Williamson vs. Kelly for the British Super Welterweight Championship will top a huge night of boxing in the North-East on Friday December 2 at the Utilita Arena, Newcastle. Former Commonwealth and WBO Inter-Continental Light-Heavyweight champion ‘King’ Lydon Arthur (20-1, 14 KOs) fights against ‘El toro’ Joel McIntyre (20-4, 5 KOs) in this North East extravaganza. The big men settle the score in Hosea Stewart vs. Franklin Ignatius II, with ‘Magic’ Matty Harris looks to continue his destructive stoppage win streak. Former world champion Katharina Thanderz (14-1, 2 KOs), local rising star Ben Marksby (5-0) and Newcastle’s Jordan Barker-Porter (5-1, 1 KO) all feature on this massive evening of action. Super Welterweight prospect Bobby Dalton (2-0), a debut for Super Welterweight Travis Walker, Jarrow’s Ewan Mckenzie (5-0, 3 KOs) and Super Middleweight Joe Laws (12-2, 5 KOs) are also added to make up a stacked card. Co-promoted by Wasserman Boxing and Probellum in association with William Hill and Infinitum Entertainment, all the action will be shown live and free on Channel 5.
WILLIAMSON VS. KELLY FIGHT CARD
-
British Super Welterweight Championship
(C) TROY WILLIAMSON – 10 STONE / 13 POUNDS / 14 OUNCES
JOSH KELLY – 10 STONE / 13 POUNDS / 10 OUNCES
Light Heavyweight – 10 Rounds
LYNDON ARTHUR – 12 STONE / 11 POUNDS / 5 OUNCES
JOEL MCINTYRE – 12 STONE / 10 POUNDS / 13 OUNCES
Heavyweight – 6 Rounds
HOSEA STEWART – 22 STONE / 12 POUNDS / 0 OUNCES
FRANKLIN IGNATIUS – 17 STONE / 4 POUNDS / 0 OUNCES
Middleweight – 4 Rounds
EWAN MACKENZIE – 11 STONE / 0 POUNDS / 0 OUNCES
ANGEL EMILOV – 11 STONE / 2 POUNDS / 0 OUNCES
Super Welterweight – 4 Rounds
JOE LAWS – 11 STONE / 5 POUNDS / 0 OUNCES
ALEXANDER ZELEDON – 11 STONE / 1 POUNDS / 0 OUNCES
Super Welterweight – 4 Rounds
TRAVIS WATERS – LATER WEIGH-IN SCHEDULED
ELIGIO PALACIOS – LATER WEIGH-IN SCHEDULED
Lightweight – 6 Rounds (2 minutes)
JORDAN BARKER-PORTER – 9 STONE / 8 POUNDS / 0 OUNCES
SHEILA MARTINEZ – 9 STONE / 8 POUNDS / 0 OUNCES
Lightweight – 8 Rounds (2 minutes)
KATHARINA THANDERZ – 9 STONE / 10 POUNDS / 0 OUNCES
EDINA KISS – 9 STONE / 10 POUNDS / 0 OUNCES
Super Lightweight – 6 Rounds
BEN MARKSBY – 10 STONE / 2 POUNDS / 0 OUNCES
SANTIAGO GARCES – 9 STONE / 13 POUNDS / 0 OUNCES
Super Welterweight – 4 Rounds
ROBERT DALTON – 10 STONE / 13 POUNDS / 0 OUNCES
JOEL BANDERAS – 10 STONE / 11 POUNDS / 0 OUNCES
Super Welterweight – 4 Rounds
ADAM REICHARD – 9 STONE / 8 POUNDS / 0 OUNCES
CLAUDIO BALDOMIR – 9 STONE / 10 POUNDS / 0 OUNCES