BELFAST's Damaen Kelly travels to the lion's den of in Barranquilla, Colombia, when he challenges IBF flyweight champion Irene Pacheco this Saturday (September 27) in arguably the most formidable overseas assignment since fellow Belfast man Wayne McCullough won the WBC bantamweight title by outpointing Japan's Yasuei Yakushiji in Nagoya in 1995. That could be a good omen, but even Kelly's big domestic rival Peter Culshaw empathises with the task ahead. "I'm disappointed with the fact that he has leapt forward to take the big fight," said Culshaw. "But to be fair I don't envy him having to travel to some far corner of Colombia that's for sure.
"Pacheco isn't the world number two for nothing. He can bang with the best of them so it will need one hell of a performance from Kelly to win."
There had been talk of Kelly and Culshaw finally getting together this Autumn, but the lure of a genuine 'world' title crack, despite the location, has proved too irresistable for the recently-married Kelly, who has previously held spurious 'world' flyweight titles with the IBO and the WBF and has struggled for a break recently.
Ranked in the WBC top ten and beaten just once in 19 fights (cuts), Kelly has boxed only four times in the last two years - and hasn't fought since last October when he outpointed Filipino Jovy Oracion over eight rounds in Liverpool. He was stripped of his IBO flyweight title for inactivity and was left kicking his heels when MRI clearance arrived late for a fight with South Africa's Ncedo Cecane in Sheffield in the Summer. His last 12-rounder came when he captured the vacant WBF flyweight title with a punch-perfect win over Celso Danggod of the Philippines in May 2002.
But a WBF title is wasted on someone like him.
Kelly, who turned pro in 1997 with Panix Promotions, enjoyed a brilliant amateur career where he won five Irish senior titles, a Commonwealth gold medal, and European and World bronzes. He raced to a similar assortment of titles in the pros, winning British, Commonwealth, European and WBC International titles - all within a dozen fights. The lightly-regarded IBO belt soon followed with a hard-earned points win over tall South African Zolile Mbityi. But, as Panix's involvement in boxing floundered, so did Kelly's career, hence the inactivity in recent years.
Now, at last, comes the chance for the 30-year-old Kelly to shine again.
But he has a seemingly impossible task on his hands against Pacheco, who, outside WBA kingpin Eric Morel, is generally regarded as the best of the flyweight champions and has won all his 29 contests in 10 long years as a pro - 22 of them by way of stoppage or knockout. That's a long time to remain unbeaten - and a high knockout ratio for a flyweight.
The 32-year-old southpaw won the vacant IBF flyweight title back in 1999 with a ninth round stoppage of Peru's Luis Cox Coronado and has since made five defences of the crown. His last defence in November 2002, saw him widely outscore quality Mexican Alejandro Felix Montiel in El Paso, Texas, and he has proved quite a hit in the sunshine state, where he has also defended impressively against Pedro Pena and Mike Trejo. A defence in Las Vegas against the slick-boxing, previously unbeaten Masibulele "Hawk" Makepula of South Africa went less smoothly. Makepula, whose style is not dissimilar to Kelly's, boxed brilliantly for much of the might but Pacheco never stopped chasing and landed enough big southpaw shots to get home on a majority decision in November 2000. But it was close. Mighty close.
Kelly has suffered a few traumatic moments of his own, given his propensity to cut. His one loss came against the Scot Keith Knox in 1999 on cuts in a fight he was winning, but he rebounded to narrowly outpoint Russia's Alexander Mahmutov for the European title a year later - a man who had gone the full 12 rounds with WBA flyweight champion Saen Sor Ploenchit, was later to beat both Jason Booth and David Guerault, and is the current European champion. It's a win that ranks as highly as Pacheco's over Montiel.
Damaen then captured the IBO flyweight title on a majority decision from the lanky and dangerous Mbityi in another keenly-contested 12-rounder, the same Mbityi who had taken Peter Culshaw to a split decision a year earlier.
Not a big puncher, Kelly is a dazzling boxer, with every shot at his disposal. Pacheco carries the greater dig, and both men are tall for flyweights, with long arms, but Pacehco is by far the stronger-looking and boasts a pair of shoulders a lightweight would be proud of. This really is a fascinating boxer versus puncher confrontation, and the fact Kelly was contemplating another rangy puncher in the build-up to this fight in Peter Culshaw, will have helped his mindset.
Still, one can't help remembering how Kelly struggled against the rangy Mbityi in 2000, when he got home on a majority decision after 12 tough rounds. Pacheco is a rangy southpaw, which only adds to doubts. And Damaen's fragile skin is always a worry. He was cut only three fights ago against the South African Simphiwe Xabendlini within the first minute, but opened up to force a stoppage in the same round (though, by rule, he is no puncher) and there's every possibility that Pacheco's raking punches - and one or two Colombian moves that aren't in the boxing textbooks - will cause further facial damage. His inactivity may also hinder him. Not having boxed for a year by the time he steps into the ring is hardly ideal preparation and very few fighters go to Colombia and pull of a 'world' title victory. Venzuela's Jesus "Kiki" Rojas travelled to Barranquilla in 1989 and dethroned the mighty Fidel Bassa in a WBA flyweight title fight on a split decision. The two scores in his favour were both 115-114 and the third read 117-114 for Bassa. You get the impression they bent over backwards to try and keep the title in Colombia. Kelvin Seabrooks and Jose Sanabria both won IBF titles in Colombia but did so by banging out their opponents.
Kelly, for all his boxing skill, is no puncher. And, for all his amateur experience, has only boxed once outside the UK as a pro, and that was in a 1998 six-rounder in the States. He will be in fact the first British professional boxer ever to fight in Colombia. (incidentally, the referee of the fight will be Colombian Manuel Rodríguez, though the Kelly camp are fighting that appointment, and the judges Uriel Aguilera, also from Colombia, Richard Green, of Florida and our own Dave Parris).
Of course, Pacheco himself has hardly been busy, with only one title defence in 2001 and the same in 2002. Like Kelly, Pacheco has yet to fight at all this year and was ordered to make a defence or be stripped of the title. He may be lacking ambition at this stage of his career. He may also be finding it more and more difficult to get down to eight stone. Those same ingredients led to a massive upset in Mexico City in 1975 when when long-reigning world welterweight champion Jose Napoles came apart in six rounds against John H. Stracey!
But, as we know, the champion is man not accustomed to losing - and will certainly not want to lose in front of his home fans. Kelly has the boxing skill to give any flyweight in the world a hard night's work, but his lack of a knockout punch goes against him in this one. To get a result in Colombia, he really will need to box Pacheco's ears off for 12 rounds. He's shown he can do that in previous fights, but the Colombian is several notches up from the kind of opposition he has faced before as a pro. The best opponent Kelly has faced, Alexander Mahmutov, nearly beat him in Belfast and would have won had a right hand that forced Kelly to dip down and virtually brush the canvas with his knee, been ruled a knockdown.
So the signs are there. Barring a cuts win, the Colombian should come through on points.
Kelly-Pacheco - a preview
Kelly-Pacheco - a preview
Last edited by bennie on 25 Sep 2003, 11:20, edited 1 time in total.
The Mahmutov "win" came by way of a very dodgy decision in Kelly's favour. He got pretty well out worked in that fight I seem to remember. If he can't beat that guy he surely won't beat this Pacheco. Though having said that I do recall reading that many thought Makepula had been badly robbed in his title shot so there is a glimmer of hope.
I don't want to sound like Adam Smith (when discussing Ricahard Williams's last fight)Kilburn wrote:The Mahmutov "win" came by way of a very dodgy decision in Kelly's favour. He got pretty well out worked in that fight I seem to remember. If he can't beat that guy he surely won't beat this Pacheco. Though having said that I do recall reading that many thought Makepula had been badly robbed in his title shot so there is a glimmer of hope.
But I'm sure there was something wrong with Kelly that night, it was a horrible decision and Mahmutov was excellent. But I DID keep thinking Kelly had some "mystery virus". Is work rate was poor by his standards.
Apart from the fight being in Columbia, with a pretty good but beatable champion. One other thing (that may or may not have been mentioned here) that I'm worried about for Kelly's chances is that his opposition haven't exactly been world beaters - I would have liked to see him against 10 ten opposition to for him to get used to the different pressure. I'm worried that an Eastman like situation will happen, i.e jump from domestic (well foreign but still of the same standing) level straight to a world title shot - no top 10-15 opponents. It cost Eastman (and if he's not careful it will cost him again) and it may cost Kelly.
But god I hope he does it, he's a class act.