Josh Kelly speaks to the Sunderland Echo's James Copley ahead of Roarke Knapp fight

Sunderland Echo

Josh Kelly speaks to Sunderland Echo sports writer James Copley ahead of the Sunderland-born boxer's fight with Roarke Knapp at the Beacon of Light on December 16, 2023

Transcript

00:00 boxing's littered with sort of underdog stories

00:03 where they're not really fancied,

00:04 but it's his chance to change his life really, isn't it?

00:07 - That's a good point, yeah,

00:10 but for me, it's another night of boxing.

00:13 For him, it can be the biggest night of his life

00:15 or this and that and the other.

00:17 And for me, it's another night where I put me,

00:20 lace my boots on and put my gloves on,

00:22 lace my boots on and put my gloves on.

00:24 And I believe, like you said, the pressure is on him.

00:30 All the pressure is on him.

00:31 I take this all in stride and I just do it.

00:34 I just do it as it, it's me job.

00:36 And I know how to get on with it.

00:37 And I've done it a million times.

00:38 I'll do it a million times after this.

00:40 And I believe he's a good fighter.

00:44 And I think after this fight,

00:46 he'll then learn a lot from this,

00:50 learn a lot from the loss.

00:52 And I think he'll go on to do decent things in the sport.

00:56 I think people will hear about him,

00:57 but I think he's got to,

00:59 he hasn't got enough at the moment for me.

01:02 - And obviously you touched on it slightly before.

01:04 I know you won't want to look too far ahead

01:08 and sort of guard against that complacency,

01:09 but Stadium of Light Fight World title shot,

01:12 those are still very much your aspirations.

01:14 What's the timeframe on that, do you reckon now?

01:16 Because you're ranked very highly

01:18 with the governing body and it's not that far away really.

01:22 Now it feels like it's really close,

01:24 really like in your grasp.

01:26 - I mean, it's two conditions.

01:27 I mean, I'm WBO number one, so I'm there.

01:31 I'm sort of in a minority position for that.

01:34 WBC, it'd be funny where I'm ranked after this.

01:38 IBF, I'm in the rankings.

01:40 I'm not sure how well I'm marked with the WBA,

01:42 but it's sort of everywhere I'm ranked.

01:44 So I can get a big fight in the drop of five

01:47 for a world title,

01:49 which I'd love to become the first world champion

01:51 if I'm certain.

01:52 And I believe I will.

01:54 But I think a big domestic fight

01:58 could also sell that stadium on.

02:00 Maybe a U-Bahn, a Ben or someone like that,

02:03 depending on how they get on in their fights.

02:05 So we'll soon see.

02:08 I've got this job of doing the six things for me

02:10 for which is like serious totally on that.

02:12 - Oh no, absolutely.

02:14 I think the last time I spoke to you, Josh,

02:16 I don't know if you remember,

02:17 but we're at the Stadium of Light.

02:19 I think it was before the Troy fight actually.

02:22 And you met up with Dan Neal and did some stuff with him.

02:25 So he captained Sunderland at the weekend,

02:30 obviously a local lad like yourself,

02:32 you know, making waves in sport.

02:35 And it's great to see, it's great for the city.

02:37 But what did you make of him as a young man

02:39 when you met him?

02:40 'Cause you seemed to get on quite well.

02:42 And from my conversations with him,

02:44 he's really impressive.

02:46 - Mate, he's a good lad.

02:47 He's a good lad.

02:48 And I feel like he's only just starting to really mature.

02:50 Like now, as a man and a player, do you know what I mean?

02:53 Like, I think he's a little bit younger than me,

02:56 but he's-

02:57 - I think he's about 23, 22, 23, something like that.

03:00 - Yeah.

03:01 And he's got, I could see he's gonna be a,

03:06 he's gonna be like,

03:08 he's gonna fill out and become a proper mature man.

03:12 I feel as though he's starting to play more like that now

03:15 and starting to come into himself more.

03:18 - I mean, he's, he's, he's sort of,

03:21 he's from Sunderland, a young kid.

03:24 I mean, you've got people like that on the team

03:25 that can become the heart and the soul of the team,

03:28 you know what I mean?

03:29 The love where they come from,

03:30 the play for the city where they're born.

03:33 So I really rate him up.

03:35 I really rate him up.

03:36 He's got a long career and hopefully I can stay in at Sunderland.

03:40 - Absolutely.

03:40 You're hoping that a couple of the Sunderland players

03:42 might attend the fight?

03:44 - Yeah, mate, I'm up for that.

03:46 I'm up for that.

03:47 I mean, it depends if they've got,

03:49 I mean, they're way up Bristol, aren't they?

03:51 I think they're way up Bristol.

03:51 - Oh no, of course, no, you're correct,

03:53 you're right about that.

03:54 - So, I would have, I would have,

03:58 I would have been all over that,

04:00 but they get a win there and I get a win here,

04:03 so don't worry.

04:04 - No, that would be good.

04:05 And what have you made of Sunderland generally

04:07 as a football team?

04:08 Obviously having a decent season so far

04:11 under Tony Mowbray, getting some good results,

04:12 play some good football as well?

04:15 - We have, mate.

04:16 We've been through a little bit of a patch,

04:17 like of not winning a few games,

04:19 we've got a good few games to go,

04:21 but we've sort of come through that now.

04:23 I put three-one win the other day there

04:24 and I think we'll get a win,

04:27 we'll definitely get a win away at Bristol

04:29 when I'm fighting.

04:30 So, I mean,

04:33 I feel as though if we do well this season,

04:37 push on, we can easily do,

04:40 we'll easily be in the playoffs again.

04:41 I would just like a secure position

04:43 without the playoffs,

04:44 because it's the story of our career,

04:46 isn't it, the playoffs?

04:47 So, I want to sort of get away from that

04:51 and just sort of secure without that

04:53 and get back on the premiereship,

04:55 sort of take on the teams

04:56 I think we deserve to be playing in

04:58 with the stadium support we've got.

05:00 We deserve to be there,

05:01 get back to the proper derbies

05:03 with Newcastle and everything.

05:05 So, we've missed it.

05:08 - I mean, just sort of, just spitballing here,

05:11 but it would be nice to have a Josh Kelly

05:15 world title fight the weekend

05:17 before Sunderland playing the Premier League

05:19 for the first time in 10 years

05:21 or playing Newcastle or something like that,

05:22 some big game, it would be amazing, wouldn't it?

05:25 - Don't, mate, you've got to speak it.

05:27 So, I believe it'll happen,

05:29 but it's only a matter of time.

05:31 We'll see you next year.

05:32 That'd be unbelievable.

05:33 - That would be class.

05:34 Josh, thank you very much for speaking to us, mate.

05:36 And good luck.

05:36 I'll hopefully see you on fight night.

05:38 - Cheers. Thank you, James.

05:40 - Take care, mate.

05:40 - See you later.

05:41 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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