BoxRec

i was at a show last sundaynight and next to me was this mean very fit looking guy about 50 with piercing blue eyes and for about an hour it bugeed me who it was then it clicked it was rocky kelly the welter weight from the 80's . i went up to him and said hello and told rocky we had met 30 years earlier at the royal albert hall i was 13 and went to the changing room to see my brother who had just fought and when i walked in with my dad there was rocky dancing around the changing room bollock naked with the body of a adonis, then thinking that might sound a bit gay i start talking about how rocky was my idol as a kid he seemed so tough plus being called rocky didn't hurt either.

Rocky was shocked i remembered him at all and no one else seemed to know who he was we spoke for about an hour during the fights and one of the first things he said was that he had killed a man in the ring (steve watts) and that he was never the same after that fight .rocky still trains and looks like he could still do 12 rds

rocky to me was the english Gatti not at the same level but just as tough . does any one else remember Kelly ?

I remember Sylvester Mittee referring to his real first name of "Hamilton" at a press conference, which Kelly took great offence to. He had to be dragged off Mittee's back.

bennie wrote:I remember Sylvester Mittee referring to his real first name of "Hamilton" at a press conference, which Kelly took great offence to. He had to be dragged off Mittee's back.

ha ha i coundn't remember his real name and called him marilyn for a joke and it was the only time he stopped smiling ,he definately prefers Rocky.

Got a few of Rockys fights, toughman and very exciting boxer.
The 1st challenge for the British title against Petrou was brutal, 2 boxers who didn't take a step back. Kostas was knocked down in the 4th, but got up to just outlasted Rocky.
Ive got his fight against Chris Sanigar as well, both boxers should be proud of that fight.

Old bones Ian wrote:Got a few of Rockys fights, toughman and very exciting boxer.
The 1st challenge for the British title against Petrou was brutal, 2 boxers who didn't take a step back. Kostas was knocked down in the 4th, but got up to just outlasted Rocky.
Ive got his fight against Chris Sanigar as well, both boxers should be proud of that fight.

I'd just started boxing as a kid and me and me mam sat down on a saturday afternoon to watch Kelly v Petrou cos she wanted to know "what this boxing's about". I boxed am n pro for 18 year and thanks to that fight she never came to watch me once The Greek tank was some fighter by the way, also remember him doin a wear em down job on Bingham in a great little tv fight

rocky was an entertaining fighter looked after by harry holland ill never forget the night in fulham when he fought kirkland lang the place was going mental kirk was just way to classy and destroyed poor old rocky bloody great night never to be forgotten

I was there that night, kirk was different class.
I seem to remember a young gary Jacobs on the undercard.
Saw rocky in an 8 rounder against judas clottey @ the Bloomsbury the night
keith Wallace won the commonwealth title against muchoki great night !

saad muhammad wrote:I was there that night, kirk was different class.
I seem to remember a young gary Jacobs on the undercard.
Saw rocky in an 8 rounder against judas clottey @ the Bloomsbury the night
keith Wallace won the commonwealth title against muchoki great night !

i haven't heard the name keith wallace in a very long time ,my brother got the deposite for a house fighting wallace

Keith Wallace died in 1999, not sure of the circumstances, I think it was illness.... terrific
fighter.

saad muhammad wrote:Keith Wallace died in 1999, not sure of the circumstances, I think it was illness.... terrific
fighter.

wow i didn't know that ,half the fighters my brother fought have either died or in jail. najib daho dead ,jean marc renard dead, mo huusien was inside for manslaughter i think , paul huggins was inside for attempted murder i think and now wallace.

Who's your brother steve ?

I have some of Rockys fights on them VHS collection "Best British title fights" "Best British title fights" commonwealth etc

Matko, if you or anyone else want what Kelly fights i have , give me a message and i'll put them on dvd for you

saad muhammad wrote:Who's your brother steve ?

Pat Doherty steve?

manno wrote:

saad muhammad wrote:Who's your brother steve ?

Pat Doherty steve?

yes mate ,i hadn't checked boxrec for a few days to get back to you .but yeah pat doherty

Thanks steve , I was at the albert hall that night Mcguigan topped the bill.
Pat fought clyde ruan, another cracking fight he was involved in.
And what about that war with mike whalley over 8 at York hall !

I was at the Lang/Kelly fight too, think it was the Ramada inn Fulham. Funny thing was, a week or so before, I was in the Fulham Tap pub on North end road, and saw Rocky in there, trying not to get noticed.
Had a bit of a laugh with him about why he wasn't getting an early night for training at 6am the next day, he was very worried about being spotted, in case his manager Harry Holland heard he'd been seen in a pub.

Great night a week or so later when he took on Laing, he didn't have much chance when Kirk was on song, but he had such massive heart everyone wondered if maybe he'd upset the apple cart, but Kirk was at the top of his game that night.

saad muhammad wrote:Keith Wallace died in 1999, not sure of the circumstances, I think it was illness.... terrific
fighter.

Keith died of cancer. 38, way too young

saad muhammad wrote:Thanks steve , I was at the albert hall that night Mcguigan topped the bill.
Pat fought clyde ruan, another cracking fight he was involved in.
And what about that war with mike whalley over 8 at York hall !

wow what a night that was i was 13 and went with my dad ruan was a good boxer and he was keeping pat at bay till pat got to him in the last and ruan went down the crowd went wild and my dad picked me up thinking pat had won but the bell went during the count and he was saved by the bell .great night 30 years ago now .

the whalley fight was a hard fight pat wasn't fit so he came out blasting but he was knackered by the 4th rd ,i think won the first 4 and whalley the next if i remember right .

One of my favs from eighties,tough man.