By Elliot Foster
Josh Kelly underlined the hype surrounding him as he came out with a first-round stoppage.
‘Pretty Boy’, who is trained by Adam Booth and promoted by Eddie Hearn and Matchroom Sport, was topping the JD-sponsored NXTGEN bill in only his third fight.
Kelly, 23, needed just one minute and 19 seconds to halt local rival Tom Whitfield at the Walker Activity Dome in Newcastle, exclusively live on Sky Sports.
His arms rested confidently by his waist as he immediately forced Whitfield, who had a winning record going into the fight, onto the back foot with a stinging jab.
And that was the beginning of the end for ‘TNT’, who was then sent staggering back into the ropes by a crisp right hand.
Kelly then unleashed 10 unanswered left hooks, forcing his man to the canvas.
Whitfield, 30, slipped to 4-2 after failing to beat the count, while ‘PBK’ recorded his second stoppage victory in a row.
"I was a bit nervous coming out here tonight, but I put a smile on, got the job done in my sort of style," Kelly told Sky Sports afterwards.
"I was watching a bit of Roy Jones [Jr] before I came out, so I thought I would toss in those left hooks and double up, but I didn't expect him to sit on the ropes for that long.
"But it was landing and obviously it was having a bad effect, so I just kept up the left hook and if you've got the rhythm and the power in your shoulder to do it - it comes off nice."