By Keith Idec

Many boxing observers believe Ray Robinson did enough two months ago to knock off undefeated welterweight contender Egidjius Kavaliauskas.

Robinson settled for a majority draw March 30, even in his hometown of Philadelphia, because two judges scored their 10-round encounter even (95-95, 95-95). One judge scored their fight 97-93 for Robinson, whose movement and southpaw stance troubled Lithuania’s Kavaliauskas (21-0-1, 17 KOs).

That performance didn’t stop England’s Josh Kelly and his trainer, Adam Booth, from agreeing to face Robinson in just the 10th professional fight for Kelly. The Kelly-Robinson bout will be part of the Anthony Joshua-Andy Ruiz Jr. undercard Saturday night at Madison Square Garden.

Eddie Hearn, Kelly’s promoter, stressed during a press conference Wednesday at The Garden that Robinson is the best opponent of the 2016 Olympian’s two-year pro career.

“If you haven’t seen Josh ‘Pretty Boy’ Kelly fight, you’re in a for a real, real treat,” Hearn said. “This guy is something else. I mean, despite the fact that he’s disgustingly handsome and carved out of stone, he is just an exceptional talent. Nine fights in, already picked up the WBA international title, already won the commonwealth welterweight title as well. Already ranked in the top 15, top 10 now, in the world, and moving at a very, very quick rate. He has a brilliant fight. And I think sometimes a fight that could go under the radar, away from the boxing people.

“We know that Ray Robinson, out of Philadelphia, is a great fighter. We saw him win against [Kavaliauskas] in his last fight, who is top-five in every governing body. He won that fight clearly last time out and Josh Kelly has a huge, huge step up on Saturday night, and one I believe he will shine in and just light up Madison Square Garden on Saturday.”

The 25-year-old Kelly (9-0, 6 KOs) is looking forward to proving versus Robinson (24-3-1, 12 KOs) that he’ll be ready soon for a welterweight world title shot.

Robinson, 33, has lost only decisions to WBC welterweight champ Shawn Porter (30-2-1, 17 KOs) and Brad Solomon (28-1, 9 KOs). He also suffered a seventh-round TKO loss to Cuba’s Yordenis Ugas (23-4, 11 KOs), who nearly upset Porter on March 9 in Carson, California.

“The last fight he had was against Kavaliauskas, and he was ranked highly, like [Hearn] said,” Kelly said. “He was a tough opponent and a lot of people thought [Robinson] won that fight, so, I mean, this is a big step up. But I feel as though the way I’ve been performing in the gym, and the people I’ve been sparring, and the way I can perform in the ring when I’m totally switched on, I feel as though Ray Robinson will give us a test, keeping me mind fully on the job, and there will come time and place we’ll see in there Saturday. And I’m gonna get the job done, come away with the ‘W,’ sit back and relax and watch the rest of the card. And hopefully all the British fighters do the same.”

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.