Josh Kelly vs. Placido Ramirez Preview

Josh Kelly vs. Placido Ramirez Preview

By Matt Elliott

Josh Kelly fights in Sunderland for the first time as a professional this Saturday, as he faces Placido Ramirez at the Beacon of Light, with the fight being aired live on DAZN.

The venue, set in the shadows of Sunderland AFC’s Stadium of Light, is a unique choice. More frequently used for other sports, as well as formal events, it is a smaller setting than Kelly is used to, but that will become an irrelevant footnote when he ring walks in front of family, friends and spectators in his home city.

It is the second outing of the year for Kelly, and the Colombian-born Ramirez is a late replacement for his original opponent, Roarke Knapp, who was forced out due to injury. Knapp was, on paper at least, a tough-looking test for Kelly, and whilst Ramirez is not considered to be at the same level, he comes into the fight with nothing to lose, as he looks to derail Kelly’s hopes of landing a shot at the WBO super-welterweight title; the Sunderland man currently ranked number one by the governing body.   

Ramirez is a big puncher who has seventeen knockouts from his twenty-four victories, with just three defeats. His last fight against Albania’s Denis Nurja ended in controversy last month when fans entered the ring and began attacking the Colombian after he struck Nurja as he recovered from a fall. The fight was unable to continue, leading the referee to rule a no-contest. That decision halted a run of five straight defeats, and he will be hoping this weekend’s fight passes in less eventful fashion.

Kelly will be hoping to put on a show and cement his place as the number-one contender for the belt currently held by Tim Tszyu. He dominated last time out against Gabriel Corzo, winning a comfortable points decision, but the fight faded in the later rounds, and Kelly was unable to find the finishing shot. With a vocal crowd behind him, he will be hoping to end the year on a high and give the locals some early Christmas cheer.

The card features several local fighters, with Ben Marksby and Travis Waters, part of the Tenacity Boxing stable, based out of Sunderland and Hartlepool, making an appearance, and Birtley’s Dan Toward, fights for the second time as a professional, following his debut in Bolton earlier this month.

Tom Welland and Harvey Lambert make their second and third appearances, respectively, whilst the card also features Andrei Dascalu and Tursynbay Kulakhmet.

WEIGH-IN RESULTS AND RUNNING ORDER

First bell scheduled for 17:25 GMT

6 Rounds Middleweight contest
Tursynbay Kulakhmet 161.7lbs
Fouad El Massoudi 162.1lbs 

6 Rounds Super Middleweight contest
Andrei Dascalu 166lbs
Angel Emilov 166.4lbs

4 Rounds Super Welterweight contest
Harvey Lambert 149.2lbs
Fabio Cascone 154.15lbs

6 Rounds Super Bantamweight contest
Tom Welland 126lbs
Yuri Zanoli 122.14lbs

6 Rounds Super Lightweight contest
Ben Marksby 143.8lbs
Kurt Jackson 141.15lbs

6 Rounds Super Welterweight contest
Travis Waters 149.8lbs
Mykhailo Sovtus 152.9lbs

6 Rounds Super Welterweight contest
Dan Toward 155.4lbs
Nikolas Dzurnak 153.9lbs

IBO World Super Welterweight title final eliminator
12 Rounds
Josh Kelly 153.8lbs
Placido Ramirez 153.2lbs