Ishmael Davis has called for a rematch with newly crowned IBF junior middleweight titleholder Josh Kelly.
Kelly defied the odds last week and defeated the heavily favored Bakhram Murtazaliev, claiming the Russian’s world title. Soon after Kelly’s victory, Matchroom Boxing’s chief executive Frank Smith revealed that Kelly’s local soccer team, Sunderland A.F.C., had been in touch about bringing Kelly’s first defense to its 48,000-capacity Stadium of Light. Kelly was asked about the opportunity and pointed to big domestic fights, as well as international bouts that could fill the stadium.
Perhaps the leading contender on the domestic scene is British and Commonwealth junior middleweight titleholder Davis. Kelly recently fought Davis in September 2024, winning a razor-close majority decision. Davis had been drafted in on late notice after original opponent Liam Smith had withdrawn because of an illness just a few days prior to the contest. The general consensus following the bout was that if Davis was given a full training camp to prepare, perhaps the result could have been different.
Davis will now defend his domestic titles in Nottingham, England, against Bilal Fawaz on February 21. But should he come through, he will be targeting a rematch with Kelly. The bout should be relatively straightforward to make, with both Davis and Kelly under the same promotional banner.
“Yeah, I think [the rematch is] what he needs to do, but I'm here, man, I'm ready,” Davis told BoxingScene. “If he wants to do that, he knows me, I know him, let's get it on. It'll be a massive fight, I know it will. So hopefully after I get through Bilal [Fawaz], that's what comes.”
There were doubts about whether Kelly would be able to sustain his back-foot boxing against the hard-hitting Murtazaliev. Many pointed to Kelly’s sole defeat, when Kelly fell to David Avaneseyan in 2021, crumbling late under the pressure to be stopped by the Russian. Similar happened to Kelly against Davis, when he again faded late and was badly hurt – but managed to edge the contest. Kelly answered a lot of questions in his victory, as once again he found himself hurt and on the floor in Round 9, but this time Kelly fought back to claim the IBF strap. So what did Davis think of Kelly’s showing?
“I watched [Murtazaliev] and I knew that he's dangerous, but he's dangerous if you're there to hit, and we all know Josh Kelly's style – it's not easy to hit,” Davis said. “So I knew he could win, but I just wanted him to get through the later rounds because I felt like when I fought him, he dipped there. When Avaneseyan beat him, he dipped there. But he's a champion now. He's one of the best in the world. So hats off to him.”
Seeing Kelly claim world title glory has only pushed Davis to achieve the feat for himself.
“Obviously, I want to be a world champion,” he said. “I just want to keep winning, bro. I just want to keep fighting, make the future better for my kids, make my future better and just do the best I can. All you can do is the best you can. When you go as hard as you need to, the best you can is enough.”
Tom Ivers is a lifelong fight fan and former amateur boxer who has a master’s degree in sports journalism. Tom joined BoxingScene in 2024 and is now a key part of the UK and social media teams.
