Josh Kelly vs Ishmael Davis Preview September 21st, 2024
Josh Kelly takes on fellow Englishman Ishmael Davis in a 12-round middleweight battle this Saturday, September 21st. The fight from Wembley Stadium in London, England can be seen on Prime Video and DAZN pay-per-view on the undercard of the Daniel Dubois vs Anthony Joshua fight. Kelly halted Placido Ramirez in the third round in December in his last outing while the unbeaten Davis beat Troy Williamson by a 12-round unanimous decision in March. Kelly was supposed to meet former junior middleweight world champion Liam Smith this weekend but he pulled out due to illness.
Kelly vs Davis Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Ishmael Davis +150
- Josh Kelly -180
My Pick
The 30-year-old Kelly of Sunderland carries around a mark of 15-1-1 with 8 Ko’s and has 114 rounds of experience under his belt since making his pro debut in 2017. He stands 5-feet-10-inches tall with a 72-inch reach and possesses slightly above-average power with a current knockout ratio of 53.3 per cent and has gone the distance in three of his past four fights. Kelly’s lone pro defeat was a sixth-round stoppage at the hands of David Avenesyan in February, 2021 in a shot at the European Welterweight Title. His draw was a 10-round majority affair with Ray Robinson in June, 2019.
Kelly won the vacant WBA International Welterweight Title in 2018 with a 10-round unanimous decision over Carlos Molina and defended it against Kris George, 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, Troy Williamson and Walter Castillo and has won the WBO International and British Super Welterweight Belts.
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.
The 29-year-old Davis of Leeds carries around a perfect record of 13-0 with 6 Ko’s and has boxed 67 rounds since making his pro debut in 2018. Unfortunately there’s no height and weight information for him so we don’t know how he stacks up size-wise against Kelly. But as far as power is concerned Kelly appears to have a slight edge as just 46 per cent of his wins have been by stoppage. don’t let that fool you though as he’s halted four of his past five opponents.
Davis hasn’t taken on any Grade A opponents though as his toughest test came against Troy Williamson and he had to go the full 12 rounds to beat him. Kelly also beat Williamson by a 12-round unanimous decision in 2022. Just four of Davis’ 13 opponents have entered the ring with a winning record and those 13 opponents had a combined mark of 89-318-11. However, he stepped up in class against Williamson and passed the test so he may be ready for a small step up in class against Kelly.
Prediction…
Kelly better be prepared to fight three minutes of every round against his late replacement and will need to be fleet of foot and utilize his power to keep Davis off of him. Kelly has faced tougher opposition as a pro and if he’s at his best he should be able to do enough to hand Davis his first defeat in a close battle. A win for Davis isn’t out of the question however as he has a lot of momentum at the moment.
Kelly’s experience against better opposition is the key.
Play: Kelly -180 @ BetOnline.ag
Check out my recent boxing betting picks to see my current form.
Ishmael Davis betting • Josh Kelly betting