Liam Smith (c) vs. Jimmy Kelly - December 19th 2015

[wesshaw1985]

whos 0 will go?

[eric116]

Disgrace of a fight..who has Kelly ever beat to deserve a shot at a world tittle

[expe]

Smith inside 6 rounds, earlier than that if he doesn't start slow.

[el_grande_mauro_mina]

Wishing young Jimmy all the best for his title shot!

[el_grande_mauro_mina]

Disgrace of a fight..who has Kelly ever beat to deserve a shot at a world tittle

That hasn't mattered since 1955.

[mickey1975]

I think he's been brought in to boost ticket sales. It's the only explanation. I've had several emails advertising tickets for it, competitions, etc

[Manchester Hitman]

Taking a second to think about it is the fight really that bad?
Smith is a good fighter but hes not some dominant champion- he
Won a vacant belt by beating an average fighter and he has yet to prove hes the best
man at domestic level. Infact I think he could get done by Liam Williams. He will beat kelly but its not a tremendous miss match IMO

[Black Sam Bellamy]

Soft first defence for Smith. Kelly hasnt beaten anyone with a decent record. The WBO should not have sanctioned this, even if it's a voluntary.

[eric116]

Between the two of them have they even beat a fighter even close to world class ?

[expe]

Taking a second to think about it is the fight really that bad?
Smith is a good fighter but hes not some dominant champion- he
Won a vacant belt by beating an average fighter and he has yet to prove hes the best
man at domestic level. Infact I think he could get done by Liam Williams. He will beat kelly but its not a tremendous miss match IMO

He did that a while ago, the only other fighter with any claim to that position is Brian Rose and he's moved up to middleweight.

Thompson wasn't world class, but if he was from over here I think he's good enough to be considered a European level fighter. He's barely top 10 in an average division domestically and hasn't fought above area title level, Smith was fighting better opposition 3 years ago, Liam summed it up when he said it's his Christmas payday, it's a complete mismatch.

[LGilsenan]

I'll be rooting for Kelly and honestly believe this is tougher than Smith thinks it will be. Hopefully Kelly can bring another Title back too Manchester

[pyenest77]

I really cant see any other result than Smith winning between 3-6.

[MightyWarrior]

Nice to see F*ank entering into the spirit of things and handing out Christmas turkeys to his loyal fans.

[ScottDetonator]

Really poor match making. Jimmy is no where near ready for a World title shot. He's only had 4 fights against fighters with winning records and they were all pretty poor.

I know they say grab every chance that comes your way but this could do more harm than good to Jimmy and his future. Stranger things have happened though.

[simonwalsh]

Fully expect Smith to destroy Kelly early on, however think some of the criticism is a bit over the top. Not sure who people expected only a couple of months removed from winning the title in a voluntary. The main support could be a lot worse.

[fizzjambo]

It's not a bad fight. Smith is obviously more experienced but I don't see it being a miss-match. A bit like Saunders v Blackwell , although Blackwell made it closer than I guessed.
The big issue is it being for a world title but if you have more than one 'champion' of a weight division then you'll get undeserving challangers

[wesshaw1985]

Press Conference - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTcJl5uz_4c
Liam Smith - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8iSbddwpB4
Jimmy Kelly - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWpxLxKflQ8

[Black Sam Bellamy]

Interesting that there was no Joe Gallagher yesterday. Unlike Joe to no show. Good interview on Bunces boxing hour yesterday where Ensley Bingham talked about Joe and Kelly's dad joining Phil Martin's Champs Camp at the same time. Possibly explains Joes absence and his unwillingness to have another Oliver Harrison type flashpoint.

[bripez]

Smith is the favourite but this fight isn't a massive mis-match compared to some that we have seen.

The problem for me is that it is billed as a World title and neither boxer is at that level.

[palooka]

Liam Smith v Kell Brook would be a good scrap.

[handsofstone]

Im not even sure if i'd even heard of Kelly Jr before this fight got made,i had a look at his record and fair do's he's still unbeaten but he hasnt a win of note,he's fought all the usual suspects on the domestic scene but ive no idea how he managed to get a world ranking,i hope he's not getting fed to the wolves here,Smith was chasing shadows against Thompson for a while before he finally caught up with him but Liam is just so strong and i think he's just gonna steamroll through Kelly,maybe take a few rounds to find his rhythm but i think it will only be a matter of time before Beefy finishes things,probably with Jimmy wincing in a lot of pain

[crusader]

Im not even sure if i'd even heard of Kelly Jr before this fight got made,i had a look at his record and fair do's he's still unbeaten but he hasnt a win of note,he's fought all the usual suspects on the domestic scene but ive no idea how he managed to get a world ranking,i hope he's not getting fed to the wolves here,Smith was chasing shadows against Thompson for a while before he finally caught up with him but Liam is just so strong and i think he's just gonna steamroll through Kelly,maybe take a few rounds to find his rhythm but i think it will only be a matter of time before Beefy finishes things,probably with Jimmy wincing in a lot of pain

I had no idea who Kelly was before the fight was announced. Someone posted something along the lines of 'it looks like it will be Smith vs Jimmy Kelly next', and I assumed that Kelly was some British celebrity I hadn't heard of and that the person was making a joke about Smith taking on soft opposition.

But it turns out that Kelly is actually a boxer and Smith's next opponent.

[Coco]

On paper it is quite an even fight.
FW will come with the champ and leave with the champ

[Manchester Massive]

Expect Smith to win but this will be less of a mismatch than people thank

[wesshaw1985]

Josh Clottey vs. Gabriel Rosado the same night. Maybe the winners could meet?
Victor Ortiz won last weekend and Jack Culcay won the week before. Other potential opponents?