Josh Kelly Will Now Face Ishmael Davis, Who Replaces Ailing Liam Smith on Riyadh Season UK Show
Josh Kelly’s calculated risk has paid off.
The Ring has learned that Kelly (15-1-1, 8 knockouts) will now face countryman Ishmael Davis. Davis (13-0, 6 KOs) replaces Liam Smith (33-4-1, 20 KOs), who fell ill and was forced to withdraw.
The bout will take place as part of Riyadh Season’s UK launch this Saturday at Wembley Stadium in London.
Kelly is due a shot at the WBO junior middleweight title previously held by Smith. The 2016 Great Britain Olympian was willing to risk that status just to appear on this show. Every fight on Saturday’s lineup are all-UK matchups.
That status remained in place when Davis agreed to abandon his already scheduled plans. The unbeaten 29-year-old from Leeds was due to face Uisma Lima (12-1, 9 KOs) on the Oct. 24 Jack Catterall-Regis Prograis DAZN show in Manchester. His schedule is now bumped up by six weeks, though Davis will be properly compensated for the concession.
Kelly has won five straight fights since a Feb. 2021 knockout loss to David Avanesyan.
Among his win streak is a common opponent with Davis. Both hold separate unanimous decision wins over Troy Williamson (20-3-1, 14 KOs). Kelly defeated an unbeaten version of the Darlington native in Dec. 2022. Davis topped Williamson in his most recent outing on March 23 in Sheffield.
Kelly-Davis is one of six fights on a DAZN Pay-Per-View show. The event is headlined by IBF heavyweight titlist Daniel Dubois (21-2, 20 KOs), who faces former two-time unified titleholder Anthony Joshua (28-3, 25 KOs).
Saturday will mark Kelly’s first fight since a Dec. 16 knockout win over Placido Ramirez (26-4, 19 KOs) in his Sunderland hometown. All five wins among his current streak have come since he moved up from welterweight after the loss to Avanesyan.
A win should set up Kelly for a shot at unified WBC/WBO 154-pound titlist Sebastian Fundora (21-1-1, 13 KOs). The timing will depend on how things shake out in the ordered Sebastian Fundora-Terence Crawford title consolidation bout.
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