Josh Kelly calls for Conor Benn showdown after defeating Flavius Biea
Sunderland native Josh Kelly has called for a showdown with Conor Benn in the wake of a tremendous win over Flavius Biea at Newcastle Arena.
In just one round of their light-middleweight collision, Josh Kelly was able to drop his Romanian opponent with Biea being slow to meet the referee’s count. In the wake of a defeat to Dvaid Avanesyan back in 2021, Kelly has been able to slowly but surely rebuild his career, getting to 17-1-1. Now, he feels as if he’s at the point where he is due a big fight, whether that be against Benn or for some kind of world championship.
Benn, as we know, is coming off the back of a defeat at the hands of Chris Eubank Jr – but even though he lost, it strangely felt as if his stock went up somewhat as a result of the incredible effort he put forward.
After his own win, Josh Kelly made his desires known.
Josh Kelly calls for Conor Benn fight
“If it’s a big domestic fight, [I want] Benn,” Kelly replied.
“If it’s not Benn, if he doesn’t want to take that fight, then it’ll be a big world-title fight.
“In every governing body I’m ranked number four or number three, two in some governing bodies.
“I’m there. I’ve been knocking on the door for some time. I’m in my prime now. Let me run, let me run.”
Quotes via BBC
This is a smart, interesting callout from Josh Kelly and we’re interested to see what Conor Benn makes of it. This would be the sort of fight that would really push both men to the limit, and it could perhaps leave the winner on the verge of a championship opportunity.
One thing is for sure – the state of British boxing is looking pretty good right now across the board.
