David Avanesyan vs Josh Kelly Preview Feb. 20th
Former WBA Welterweight Champion David Avanesyan of Russia will be defending his European Welterweight Title against unbeaten Josh Kelly of England at Wembley Arena in London this Saturday, Feb. 20th. The 12-round bout can be seen on DAZN in North America while those in the UK can catch it on Sky Sports Arena. Avanesyan stopped Jose Del Rio in the first round in December, 2019 in his last outing while Kelly beat Winston Campos via a 10-round unanimous decision in the same month.
Avanesyan vs Kelly Betting Odds
- David Avanesyan +110
- Josh Kelly -140
My Pick
The 32-year-old Avanesyan now fights out of the UK and enters the ring with a record of 26-3-1 with 14 Kos. He turned pro in 2009 and has fought 195 rounds since then. He stands 5-feet-8-inches tall and has a reach of 68.5 inches. He won the interim WBA belt against Charlie Navarro by unanimous decision in 2015 and then defended it against Shane Mosley by unanimous decision before losing it to Lamont Peterson by unanimous decision in his next outing.
Avanesyan has good speed, but he’s not known as a heavy hitter as his knockout ratio is currently at 46.7 per cent. Avanesyan is a pretty good body puncher and likes to throw combinations rather than one shot at a time. His first loss came at the hands of Andrey Klimov by a six-round unanimous decision in his second pro fight in 2009 and he fought to a 12-round draw with Aslanbek Kozaev in 2013.
After losing to Peterson he was stopped in the sixth round in 2018 by Egidijus Kavaliauskas in a shot at the NABF Welterweight Crown. Since turning pro he’s also won the Russia Welterweight, interim WBC Youth Intercontinental, WBC Asian Boxing Council and WBC Baltic Welterweight Title. Avanesyan won the European title by stopping Kerman Lejerraga in the ninth round in 2019 and has defended it twice, including a first-round stoppage of Lejerraga in their rematch six months later.
The 26-year-old Kelly carries around a mark of 10-0-1 and has 67 rounds under his belt since making his pro debut in 2017. He stands 5-feet-10-inches tall with a 72-inch reach which gives him a two-inch edge in height and a 3.5-inch advantage in reach. He carries average power as well with a current knockout ratio of 54.6 per cent. Kelly’s lone blemish on his pro record was a 10-round majority draw with Ray Robinson in June, 2019.
Kelly won the vacant WBC International Welterweight Title in 2018 with a 10-round unanimous decision over Carlos Molina and defended it against Przemyslaw Runowski and Robinson. He stopped George after seven rounds when George suffered a broken jaw and broken hands. That bout was also for the Commonwealth Welterweight Belt. Kelly has also beaten Jose Luis Zuniga and Walter Castillo.
Kelly enjoyed a fine amateur career as he won a bronze medal at the 2012 AIBA Youth World Championships, won gold at the 2014 Heidelberg Round Robin Tournament, took bronze at the 2014 Golden Belt Tournament, the 2015 Bocskai Memorial Tournament and the 2015 European Games. He was also a quarter-finalist at the 2015 AIBA World Championships and participated at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil where he went 1-1.
Prediction…
This is a good grudge match between a young former Olympian and tough pro prospect Kelly and an aging warhorse in Avanesyan, who is relatively unknown to most boxing fans even after his win over Shane Mosley a few years ago. With the judging in the UK being atrocious lately, Avanesyan is going to have to dominate Kelly or stop him and even then he can’t be guaranteed a win. Kelly’s six years younger and wants to prove he can handle a step up in class and I think he’ll succeed, hopefully without the benefit of disgraceful UK judging.
Kelly is younger and has something to prove.
Play: Kelly -140 @ 5dimes.eu
Check out my recent boxing betting picks to see my current form.
David Avanesyan betting • Josh Kelly betting