Joshua Nelson returns in style
South London light welter-weight Joshua Nelson (3-1) celebrated his return to the ring after a six-year absence with a resounding victory at York Hall, Bethnal Green.
His #NowOrNever rallying slogan raised expectations when he faced Canning Town's Lee Hallett (1-53-2) on a Warren Boxing Management/Mark Prior show on December 2nd. Warren Boxing Management recently signed the 33-year-old and Nelson returned their faith in spectacular style. He predicted of his comeback: “I’ll be right back, like I left something!” And he kept good on his promise.
His opponent was tough and cagey but never got to grips with Nelson’s slick footwork and razor-sharp combinations. Nelson dominated every round. Hallett’s only noteworthy moments were some desperate and messy lunges against the ropes which every now and again took the slick rhythm out of Nelson’s work before the referee separated them and Nelson took charge again.
Catford's Nelson currently trains at the Amigos Gym, Kent and Royal Resistance Gym, south-east London and has a professional record of 3-1.
On his strategy for the fight, he said: “I am a boxer naturally but also I can fight and I can bang so I don’t mind going to war. But my corner was telling me to stick to my boxing, so that’s what I did and I got the result. I wanted to get the rounds under my belt. It’s been six years since I last fought and that’s a very long time.”
And commenting on his opponent’s roughhouse style: “It’s all good. I wanted an opponent who’d come to fight. Obviously, he couldn’t box with me so he wanted to go to war. So I had to stop myself from going to war with him. But I showed my boxing ability and it was a good stepping stone for the next stage.”
Regarding his plans for the future: “I fight again early next year, hopefully, a six rounder and from then we keep moving. But I intend to go back down to lightweight.”
