Kalle Sauerland predicts Kelly will deliver fight of the night on the undercard to Joshua vs Dubois
HE Turki bin Abdulmohsen Alalshikh confirmed the full Riyadh Season Card to be staged on Saturday September 21 at Wembley Stadium headlined by the heavyweight bout between two-time unified champ Anthony Joshua and new IBF World heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois.
The undercard is littered with exceptional domestic fights, such as Tyler Denny vs Hamzah Sheeraz, Joshua Buatsi vs Willy Hutchinson, and Anthony Cacace vs Josh Warrington.
But there’s one supporting act that promoter Kalle Sauerland is adamant will steal the show – Josh Kelly vs Liam Smith.
30-year-old ‘Pretty Boy’ Kelly has won five in a row since defeat to David Avanesyan over three years ago, picking up the British and WBO International super-welterweight titles to now be ranked WBC #9, IBF #5, WBO #4, IBO #7.
Former world champion, ‘Beefy’, is also highly ranked at WBC #6 and IBO #2 – at middleweight. This fight will pit youth versus experience, which is what Kelly experienced once before when he was stopped by Russian ‘Ava’ in 2021.
Sunderland’s Kelly was enjoying a meteoric rise as a pro, after a glittering amateur career, until he was overshadowed by Avanesyan in a six-round beating for the European welterweight title.
Now, he attempts to do the same again in a risky fight with a wily operator, who has 20 KOs from 33 victories, which includes a fourth-round stoppage win over Chris Eubank Jr. The Brighton boxer was able to exact revenge in their rematch last September, however.
Smith has lost four times during his 15-year career – to Canelo, Jaime Munguia, Magomed Kurbanov, Eubank Jr. – but has never lost back to back fights.
His last four wins all came by knockout, so the Merseysider is hitting hard in the twilight of his career, which, at 35, and only six bouts within the last five years, could be coming to a close soon.
Both Brits will be viewing this fight as a launchpad to getting into world title contention, so the stakes are high.
Here’s what they had to say at yesterday’s launch…
Josh Kelly: “Firstly, I want to His Excellency, Riyadh Season and Spencer Brown, a big thank-you.
“I’m a big 154 fighter so 160 will suit me. I have nothing but respect for Liam, he has had a great career, he put Liverpool on the map – him and his brothers – and there is no bad blood between us, it’s just business.
“Stylistically it’s one of the best match-ups on the card.”
Kalle SauerlandHead of Global Boxing at Wasserman: “Yet again, the Riyadh Season, the global takeover, delivers. We’ve just got our breath back from the Undisputed clash and 5 vs 5, and now this, a historic card, the best card ever in Britain.
“The main event is absolutely gigantic, but Kelly vs Smith, could steal the show. Yes, it is the right time to fight Liam, at the right weight. People who are around the scene, know of Josh Kelly’s potential and this is his time to shine, in front of 90,000 people at an iconic venue.
“But it’s not about this being the right time to fight Liam, it’s Josh’s time. Adam Booth has done a fantastic job, this man is on fire. I believe this fight will steal the show.”
Liam Smith: “This is a great fight on a huge card. It’s a fight that not many people thought about but now it’s announced, they can see it’s an interesting fight.
“My focus is on Josh Kelly; I am massively confident of winning. Josh and Adam probably feel like they are getting me at right time. Fighters have made that mistake before, and they are doing the same thing.
“Josh has got to step up at some point and this might be his right time, but people have thought they are getting me at the right before – Anthony Fowler did so after I fought in Russia. I feel refreshed now, we have long enough to go, this has lit the fire in my belly. Big respect for Josh and Adam, but business is business.”