Josh Kelly returns to action in his hometown of Sunderland this weekend as he looks to set up a big 2024. 

The WBO’s number one rated super welterweight takes on Colombian puncher, Placido Ramirez (24-3, 17 KO’s), but believes that he carries plenty of power himself these days.

“I am punching genuinely hard now. I’m not sure if it’s the weight, the maturity or the belief,” Kelly (14-1-1, 7 KO’s) said. “I’m not trying but I’m putting guys out in sparring and putting people down. It’s starting to go to a whole new level.”

It is a year since Kelly beat Troy Williamson in what was at the time a must win fight. 

Many people picked the rugged, heavy-handed Williamson to wear down Kelly but the 2016 Olympian boxed a perfect fight, neutralizing Williamson from the very early stages and picking him apart en route to a wide unanimous decision.

The victory earned him the British super welterweight title - a belt he has since vacated - but it also provided him with something more important. The self-confidence he has probably been searching for since his stoppage defeat to David Avanesyan in 2021. 

“It’s not believing in yourself now, it’s knowing stuff about yourself,” he said.

“To be able to go to the next level and challenge for world titles and challenge at the top you have to know you’ve got that something about you. I’ve been tested plenty of times in the gym, plenty of times in the professionals and amateurs. I know where I’m at. I know where I’m destined to be going. It’s just a matter of time till we get there.”

Assuming Kelly gets past Ramirez this weekend, his promoter, Kalle Sauerland, has big plans for 2024. Although WBO super welterweight champion, Tim Tszyu, has ambitions of his own, Kelly is in the perfect position to push for a fight with the excellent and exciting Australian and there are host of familiar faces campaigning in and around the super welterweight division. 

“Big fights. Everyone knows I like a domestic blockbuster,” Sauerland said. “There’s a few names circling about. Chris Eubank Jnr, Conor Benn, I’ve heard about Kell Brook returning. There’s some very, very interesting domestic fights to make. At the same time there’s big world fights to make. I’ll be honest, I prefer the British ones because they’re big but we’ll see what we can do.”