Josh Kelly’s calculated risk paid off.
The Ring has learned that Kelly (15-1-1, 8 knockouts) will now face compatriot Ishmael Davis. Davis (13-0, 6 KOs) replaces Liam Smith (33-4-1, 20 KOs), who became ill and was forced to withdraw.
The match will take place as part of Riyadh Season’s UK launch this Saturday at London’s Wembley Stadium.
Kelly is owed 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 line-up is UK-wide.
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 October 24’s Jack Catterall-Regis Prograis DAZN show in Manchester. His schedule has now been bumped up by six weeks, although Davis will be properly compensated for the concession.
Kelly has won five straight fights since a February 2021 knockout loss to David Avanesyan.
Among his winning streak is a common rival with Davis. Both hold separate unanimous decision victories over Troy Williamson (20-3-1, 14 KOs). Kelly defeated an unbeaten version of the Darlington native in December 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 titleholder Daniel Dubois (21-2, 20 KOs), who faces former two-time unified titleholder Anthony Joshua (28-3, 25 KOs).
Saturday will be Kelly’s first fight since a Dec. 16 knockout victory over Placido Ramirez (26-4, 19 KOs) in his hometown of Sunderland. All five wins in his current streak have come since he moved up from welterweight following the loss to Avanesyan.
A win should give Kelly a shot at unified WBC/WBO 154-pound title shot Sebastian Fundora (21-1-1, 13 KOs). The timing will depend on how things shake out in the scheduled Sebastian Fundora-Terence Crawford title consolidation match.
