Things you didn't know about Josh Kelly next opponent, Lucas Bastida
Photo Credit: Gustavo Ganim / Argentina Boxing Promotions
Josh ‘PBK’ Kelly(11-1-1, 7 KOs) is heading straight back to the ring one month after his comeback fight in May to face Lucas ‘El Tornado’ Bastida(18-1-1, 10 KOs) on July 30 in Newcastle, live on Channel 5.
Having never fought outside of his country before, not a lot is known about the visiting threat, so BBN have compiled an easy to read list below for UK fight fans to get to know him better ahead of fight night:
Facts
Born in Mar del Plata, Argentina, Lucas was the oldest of five children. His father is an electrician and handyman, while his mother looks after the family and house.
His full name is Lucas Brian Ariel Bastido and his boxing nickname is ‘El Tornado’.
Initially, he took part in kickboxing for three months before turning to boxing. On his second day in the gym he was made spar, then had his first amateur boxing bout just three months later.
The youngster ran his amateur record to an impressive 30-3 and was the Buenos Aires Province champion, Atlantic Coast champion, and Mar del Plata champion.
He is trained by Fernando Sosa at the Gym Maravilla Sosa and Carlos Olivera (assistant coach), and managed by Mario Margossian, who also manages Marcelo Esteban who might be familiar to many as a former Billy Joe Saunders opponent.
His boxing career was almost finished before it even started when he was mugged and his left hand was severely injured. He described the attack in his own words: “I went out with a few friends from school and, out of nowhere, a guy with a huge butcher knife appeared, demanding money. I had almost nothing but the guy still demanded more. He stabbed me. I put my arms up to cover myself and he stabbed me a lot on my arms and hands as well. I ended with lots of injuries but most importantly three [damaged] tendons and a cut nerve. He even tried to stab me on my back when I was leaving and I managed to dodge him and he cut my jacket almost in half. It was the end for me. I couldn’t feel my hand, my fingers, part of my arm, I wasn’t able to move none of them. Even more, since my tendons were cut, I wasn’t able to stretch my hand. It was always in a curve shape.” Despite being told by several specialists that he had to forget practising any sports, he began physical therapy as soon as the plastic ties were removed and was back in the ring eight months on from the harrowing incident.
Aged 20, he won his pro debut on points against a fellow debutant on August 20, 2017, in his home city of Mar del Plata in Buenos Aires.
He suffered an unfortunate loss early on in his career, just eight months after his pro bow, when a deep cut caused a scheduled six-round fight with 5-0 Hugo Alberto Roldan to be cut short in the third round, ruled as a TKO defeat by referee Mario Orellana. Usually, in this scenario, the ruling would be a Technical Draw. He said of the defeat: “I wasn’t working with my promoter and manager Mario Margossian at that time. We took that fight because we needed to fight and I don’t reject any bout. I went as a visitor to his house in the north of Mar del Plata in Santiago del Estero, hoping things were going to be fair. But everything happened in the worst way, with local officials favouring the local fighter. First, they changed my gloves. And during the fight, Roldán headbutted me. That could have been accidental. I was able to continue, despite the cut. The referee ruled it as a legal punch. After recovering from that, I was attacking and landing a lot. The ref stopped the action and called the ring doctor, who said the cut was too deep, and they decided to stop the fight.”
Bastido became the South American middleweight champion in his 14th fight, via a first-round KO. He has since defended the title five times, reigning as champion for two and half years now. A former holder of this same prestigous title, which dates all the way back to 1928, was Carlos Monzon in the late 60s.
He has never fought outside of his native country until now, but despite this being his first fight abroad, he was actually scheduled to face Danny Dignum for the vacant WBA International middleweight title on December 3, 2021, at the York Hall in London, but it never materialised.
In May this year, he was ranked as high as 3rd place with the WBO. He achieved the lofty ranking having held 16-0 Juan Manuel Taborda to a draw over 10-rounds for the WBO Latino middleweight title in his penultimate fight. Both Argentian opponents scored a second-round stoppage in their next fights – Bastida defended his South American title, while Taborda retained his WBO Latino strap whilst also collecting the IBF Latino version too. A rematch could be on the cards…
He trains and spars with a trio of light heavyweights: Cesar Reynoso, Ruben Acosta and Ezequiel Acosta.
He describes his boxing style as: “I consider myself a boxer that has a bit of everything. I like to attack but if I have to use my legs and to defend myself, I can. If I have to get toe-to-toe and trade punches, I also do so. I try to be a complete boxer. Nevertheless I am still growing, learning, improving and have a long way to go.”
He has a large tattoo of a Lion wearing a crown on his torso.
He is a father to a one year old daughter, named Gio.
In his spare time, he likes to play on his PlayStation and enjoys watching boxing and films and documentaries about boxers.
Stats
Bouts: 20
Rounds: 85
Wins: 18
Draws: 1
Losses: 1
KOs: 10
KO Ratio: 50%
Age: 25
Height: 6’1”
Rankings
BoxRec: 3rd (Argentina)
BoxRec: 46th (World)
IBO: 43rd
What have they said?
Bastida: “Josh Kelly has Olympic experience, he’s a good boxer and very fast. I saw in his fight against Avanesyan that he got knocked down, and then he got stopped, so I think the key to victory will be to go to war from the beginning of the fight. For me this is my first fight abroad, I’m a warrior in life so I’ll be going to war as soon as the bell rings.”
Kelly: “He is a tough South American who has plenty of experience for a fighter who is 25-years-old. To only have one loss on his record shows how tough he is, there’s no doubt he’ll be coming to win. He’s someone who is going to give me the hard rounds I need to get back into the mix for big fights and major titles. It’s very much the same from me though – I’m coming to show my class and I’ll be looking to get him out, 100%.”
North East Takeover
Josh Kelly (11-1-1, 7 KOs) Vs. Lucas Bastida (18-1-1, 10 KOs) headlines on an electric fight night, featuring Harlem Eubank (14-0, 6 KOs) as he continues his charge towards titles against Tom ‘Fazza’ Farrell (21-5, 5 KOs). A boxing debut in Newcastle for Aaron Chalmers (1-0) as he looks to star in his second professional fight in front of a packed out arena in his home city, with Hosea Stewart (2-0) and Franklin Ignatius (3-0, 1 KO) set to shake the arena in a Heavyweight contest guaranteed to produce fireworks. Wasserman Boxing heads to the Vertu Motors Arena in Newcastle for a massive night of free-to-air boxing on Saturday July 30, live on Channel 5 in association with William Hill, Numan and Infinitum Entertainment.
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