Josh Kelly (boxer)


Joshua "Josh" Kelly is an English professional boxer who has held the IBF light-middleweight title since January 2026. He is a former British light-middleweight and Commonwealth welterweight title holder. As an amateur he competed in the men's welterweight event at the 2016 Summer Olympics and the 2015 European Games, in which he won a bronze medal.
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Amateur career

Representing Great Britain, Kelly won a bronze medal in the 69kg category at the 2015 European Games in Azerbaijan, losing in the semi-finals to the host nation's eventual champion Parviz Baghirov.
The following year he was selected for the Rio Olympics, where he lost in the round-of-16 to Kazakhstan's Daniyar Yeleussinov who went on to win the gold medal.

Professional career

Kelly's first fight as a professional was a six rounds points victory against Jay Byrne of Dublin in April 2017 at the SSE Hydro in Glasgow on the undercard of Ricky Burns vs. Julius Indongo.
Kelly won his next two fights in the next two months, defeating Spain's Jony Vila and Gateshead's Tom Whitfield by fourth-round stoppage and first-round knockout respectively. The Vila fight took place at the Barclaycard Arena, Birmingham in May whilst the Whitfield fight took place at the Walker Activity Dome, Newcastle in June, with his fight being the main event.
Kelly finished the year with a record of 5–0 after victories over Mexico's Jose Luis Zuniga and France's Jean Michel Hamilcaro, winning by second-round stoppage and sixth-round stoppage respectively in October and December. Those fights took place at the SSE Arena, Belfast and the York Hall, London.

Kelly vs. Robinson

On June 1, 2019, Kelly fought Ray Robinson, who was ranked #13 by the WBC and #15 by the WBO at welterweight. Kelly was ranked #9 by the WBA at welterweight. The contest was even and ended up in a majority draw, with one scorecard going in favour of Kelly, 96–94, while the other two read 95–95 twice.

Kelly vs. Campos

In his next fight, Kelly fought Wiston Campos. Kelly won the bout via unanimous decision. The scorecards read 99–90, 99–90 and 98–91.

Kelly vs. Avanesyan

In his next fight, Kelly fought highly ranked welterweight and reigning European Champion David Avanesyan, who was ranked #6 by the IBF, #7 by the WBC, #9 by the WBA and #10 by the WBO at the time. Avanesyan showed to be the better man on the night and finished Kelly within six rounds.

Kelly vs. Williamson

Kelly won the British light-middleweight title by beating defending champion Troy Williamson by unanimous decision at Newcastle Arena on 2 December 2022.

Kelly vs. Davis

Kelly was scheduled to face Liam Smith at Wembley Stadium in London, England on 21 September 2024. On September 13, 2024 it was reported that the latter withdrew due to illness. On 16 September 2024 it was announced that Smith was replaced by Ishmael Davis. Kelly won by majority decision winning the two judges awarding the fight to him and the third scoring it as a draw.

Kelly vs. Biea

At Newcastle Arena on 6 June 2025, he defeated Flavius Biea by first round stoppage. Kelly knocked his opponent to the canvas and, although Biea, got back to his feet, the referee decided he was not fit to continue and waved off the contest.

Kelly vs. Murtazaliev

Kelly was scheduled to challenge IBF light-middleweight champion Bakhram Murtazaliev at Newcastle Arena on 31 January 2026. Throughout the fight, Kelly fought off of the backfoot, scoring countershots as Murtazaliev attempted to pressure him and force him against the ropes with hard shots. In the fourth round, Kelly scored a knockdown, while Murtazaliev returned the favor in the ninth. After 12 rounds, Kelly won the world title via majority decision, with judges scorecards of 115–111, 114–113 and the third scoring it a 113–113 draw.

Professional boxing record

No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
20WinBakhram MurtazalievMD1231 Jan 2026Newcastle Arena, Newcastle, EnglandWon IBF light-middleweight title
19Win17–1–1Flavius BieaKO1, 2:036 Jun 2025Newcastle Arena, Newcastle, England
18Win16–1–1Ishmael DavisMD1221 Sep 2024Wembley Stadium, London, England
17Win15–1–1Placido RamirezKO3, 2:3816 Dec 2023Beacon of Light, Sunderland, England
16Win14–1–1Gabriel Alberto CorzoUD1215 Jul 2023Vertu Motors Arena, Newcastle, EnglandRetained WBO International light-middleweight title
15Win13–1–1Troy WilliamsonUD122 Dec 2022Newcastle Arena, Newcastle, EnglandWon British light-middleweight title
14Win12–1–1Lucas BastidaUD1030 Jul 2022Vertu Motors Arena, Newcastle, EnglandWon vacant WBO International light-middleweight title
13Win11–1–1Peter KramerTKO4, 2:3117 Jun 2022Liverpool Arena, Liverpool, England
12Loss10–1–1David AvanesyanTKO6, 2:1520 Feb 2021The SSE Arena, London, EnglandFor European welterweight title
11Win10–0–1Wiston CamposUD1020 Dec 2019Talking Stick Resort Arena, Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.
10Draw9–0–1Ray Robinson101 Jun 2019Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, USRetained WBA International welterweight title
9Win9–0Przemyslaw RunowskiUD1020 Apr 2019The O2 Arena, London, EnglandRetained WBA International welterweight title
8Win8–0Walter Fabian CastilloTKO1, 2:5510 Nov 2018Manchester Arena, Manchester, England
7Win7–0Kris George7, 3:0016 Jun 2018Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle, EnglandRetained WBA International welterweight title;
Won Commonwealth welterweight title
6Win6–0Carlos Molina1031 Mar 2018Principality Stadium, Cardiff, WalesWon vacant WBA International welterweight title
5Win5–0Jean Michel HamilcaroTKO6, 2:0613 Dec 2017York Hall, London, England
4Win4–0Jose Luis ZunigaTKO2, 1:4121 Oct 2017SSE Arena, Belfast, Northern Ireland
3Win3–0Tom Whitfield1, 1:1923 Jun 2017Walker Activity Dome, Newcastle, England
2Win2–0Jony Vina4, 1:2713 May 2017Barclaycard Arena, Birmingham, England
1Win1–0Jay Byrne615 Apr 2017The SSE Hydro, Glasgow, Scotland