Photos: Troy Williamson, Josh Kelly - Face To Face at Press Conference

Heating debate over British gold began as talk of ending careers erupted during today's launch conference ahead of the epic North East battle for the British Super Welterweight Championship confirmed between Darlington’s Troy Williamson (19-0-1, 14KOs) and Sunderland’s Josh Kelly (12-1-1, 7 KOs) at the Utilita Arena, Newcastle on Friday December 2, live on Channel 5.

Kalle Sauerland - "Two guys, two gladiators, who absolutely love it. I struggle to think of areas of the world, let alone in the UK, where sports means more to them than the North East. It’s going to be a packed house, and the great thing is that it’s for the British title. Something that is so pure in this sport, and naturally leads to bigger things.

"You talk about final eliminators, or big fights that break you out onto the world scene, the winner on December 2 WILL have that breakthrough; that’s a given. The reward for these two getting through a very hard training camp will be the platform of Channel 5, a nationwide audience, screened to countries around the world. It’s a huge fight that I believe will not only determine the careers of these fighters, but will entertain the entire nation. I’m just extremely excited to be back in the North East on December 2.

"I remember looking at the situation as a fan from the outside, and I’ve never seen a fighter who was built up like a rocket and launched to 100 like he was. He took one loss early in his career just like many world champions I’ve promoted before, Wladimir Klitschko lost multiple times before going on to defend his heavyweight belts for a decade. I thought Josh losing once early in his career was exaggerated, it was a bit like the end of the sun and the moon all at once. Josh Kelly then is a completely different fighter to Josh Kelly now. The great thing about this British title fight is that it’s a true step forward for one of these, but ultimately we know what Josh can do. He’s in the hands of Adam Booth, who I rate as one of the best trainers over the past decades, and I have complete faith in them."