Troy Williamson believes Josh Kelly has a shot to unseat IBF junior middleweight titleholder Bakhram Murtazaliev when they fight on January 31.
The Russian will head to Newcastle, England, not far from Kelly’s hometown, to put his world title on the line. Williamson knows Kelly well – having lost to him over 12 rounds in December 2022 and later as a sparring partner.
They might have been domestic rivals, but there was never any bad blood.
“Definitely not,” Williamson, 22-4-1 (16 KOs), told BoxingScene. “We shared trains to go on training camps and box abroad with Team GB. Boxing’s a business, and I think that you’ve got to talk a little bit of rubbish to sell a fight, and I think that’s exactly what I’ve done.
“We sold the Utilita Arena out in Newcastle just by me wearing a Newcastle top and saying this and saying that, but no, there’s no bad blood between me and Josh. I wish him well and I hope he goes and wins that IBF world title.”
Williamson admits he has not studied Murtazaliev, 23-0 (17 KOs), in detail, but he knows Kelly – a 2016 Olympian – very well.
Of the champion, Williamson said: “I’ve seen the guys he’s fought and seen what he’s done, and it does look on paper as a tough task, but I think Josh has got the skills to beat any of them, if I’m honest. It’s just, can he do it on the night?
“Obviously we’ll see.”
Kelly, 17-1-1 (9 KOs), has often explained that there’s been a transformation from him as a novice pro to the more seasoned version that will enter his first title shot.
“Definitely,” Williamson agreed. “I think he’s starting to sit down on his punches a little bit more. He’s still got that flair and he’s still got the snap, but I think now he’s sitting down on his shots a little bit more. If he can start taking people out, then he’s going to be a real problem. If you study boxing and you know boxing, you will like watching Josh Kelly box as well as you would like watching Sunny Edwards box.
“If you’re just an armchair critic, you won’t like it because all they want to see is people getting knocked out or blood, sweat and tears, which I understand. It’s the hurt business, but a real boxing pugilist will enjoy the Josh Kellys or the Sunny Edwards.”
Tris Dixon covered his first amateur boxing fight in 1996. The former editor of Boxing News, he has written for a number of international publications and newspapers, including GQ and Men’s Health, and is a board member for the Ringside Charitable Trust and the Ring of Brotherhood. He has been a broadcaster for TNT Sports and hosts the popular “Boxing Life Stories” podcast. Dixon is a British Boxing Hall of Famer, an International Boxing Hall of Fame elector, a BWAA award winner, and is the author of five boxing books, including “Damage: The Untold Story of Brain Trauma in Boxing” (shortlisted for the William Hill Sportsbook of the Year), “Warrior: A Champion’s Search for His Identity” (shortlisted for the Sunday Times International Sportsbook of the Year) and “The Road to Nowhere: A Journey Through Boxing’s Wastelands.” You can reach him @trisdixon on X and Instagram.
