SSE Arena, Wembley - David Avanesyan wore down Josh Kelly in six rounds to retain his European welterweight title and pitch his name into the hat for a world-title shot in the next 12 months.

For four rounds Avanesyan had been picked off by the promising British fighter, but the more the rounds ticked by, the closer the Russian got. By the sixth round Kelly no longer had the strength to stay out of the way.

Avanesyan was always looking to play the long game, using his experience and strength to let Kelly blow himself out. By the fifth round, though, he was getting Kelly to trade with him and he was happy to be on the receiving end of Kelly’s best shots to land some of his own.

At 26, Kelly has plenty of time to regroup. But, whether or not training during lockdown had a negative effect on him, he did not look ready for this step up yet.

 

Kelly got the best of the opening round, using his reflexes to catch Avanesyan on the few occasions he ventured into range. Early in the second, Kelly landed a three-punch combination that stopped Avanesyan in his tracks, but the Russian shrugged that off and was putting Kelly under pressure by the end of the round.

Kelly also had the upper hand in the third, but he was being made to work by Avanesyan, who was also getting through with increasing regularity. Kelly’s face was starting to look puffy, while he also was cut around the back of his head.

For the first two minutes of the fourth round, Kelly put on a masterclass, moving about the ring and walking Avanesyan into punches. But after complaining about a clash of heads, Kelly’s work began to get ragged as Avanesyan got closer and Kelly finished the round with a nasty looking cut above the right eye.

Things began to swing the Russian's way in the fifth round, as Avanesyan started to get in Kelly's face and the Sunderland boxer was forced to fight off the ropes. Kelly had some success as he decided to stand and trade, but he was looking open too.

Kelly dominated early in the sixth, backing away, landing and then moving off. But Avanesyan was getting close. As Kelly forced Avanesyan back onto the ropes, Avanesyan landed three clubbing rights on the side of the head, creating a knockdown as both gloves touched down to the mat.

As he rose, Kelly looked tired. But there was no escape from Avanesyan. A right landed and Kelly’s legs began to betray him as he stumbled back across the ring. Avanesyan was right on him, but the towel flying in from Adam Booth as Kelly went down for a second time. It ended at 2:15 of the sixth round.

“Two years,” Neil Marsh, Avanesyan’s manager shouted. He will feel vindicated after this match was called off at very late notice in December 2019.

Avanesyan got involved in an exchange of insults with someone on the other side of the ring. Kelly sat on his stool, tired and beaten.

The Russian has a three-fight deal with Matchroom and the win could easily push Avanesyan, the former WBA interim champion, back towards world honours. He was already in the top ten of all four governing bodies going into this.

For Kelly, there are lessons to be learnt, but no shortcuts to be had. He had been dragged into Avanesyan’s fight and, at this stage, he just wasn’t ready for it. 

The plan had been for Kelly to face Conor Benn in the summer. That still looks an interesting fight, although Benn might not see the upside in it now with no European title and Kelly’s reputation battered. 

Ron Lewis is a senior writer for BoxingScene. He was Boxing Correspondent for The Times, where he worked from 2001-2019 - covering four Olympic Games and numerous world title fights across the globe. He has written about boxing for a wide variety of publications worldwide since the 1980s.