Troy Williamson vs Josh Kelly media workout day quotes
It was Media Workout day as fight night for the British Super Welterweight title draws nearer. This Friday, December 2, will see ‘Judgement Night’ decide who reigns as King of the North East between Sunderland’s Josh Kelly (12-1-1) and current British champion Troy Williamson (19-0-1) at the Utilita Arena, live on Channel 5.
Both men are currently belt holders, both men are coming into this off the back of wins; ultimately, both men can claim the biggest win of their careers in their own back yard. Kelly holds the WBO International Super Welterweight title, but it will be the Darlington man's historic Lonsdale belt on the line which champion Williamson will be eager to keep in his possession. It's the final time the media will get the opportunity to see both of these North East stars in the ring, with an electric night promised in Newcastle.
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."
In a seperate interview with Probellum, Williamson added, “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! 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. 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. 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.”
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.
