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Kell Brook and Michael Zerafa may be the headliner for Saturday’s fight card inside Sheffield Arena, but an undercard bout between Josh Kelly and David Avanesyan for the WBA International welterweight title may be the most intriguing battle of the night.
For those in the United States and Canada looking to watch, the fight is expected to start around 3 p.m. ET (card starts at 2 p.m. ET) and will be broadcast only on DAZN, the new digital streaming service that has exclusive rights to over 70 fight nights per year, including Canelo vs Rocky on December 15.
You can sign up for a free one-month trial of DAZN right here (which means you’ll also get the Canelo fight for free), and you can then watch a live stream of the fight on your computer via DAZN.com, or on your phone, tablet, smart TV, Xbox One or other streaming device via the DAZN app.
Preview
Following an amateur run that included a bronze medal at the 2015 European Games and a trip to the 2016 Olympics, the start to Josh Kelly’s professional career has been flawless. Eight fights, eight wins. And only one has gone the distance.
The difficulty of those fights has steadily increased, as he took down Carlos Molina for the vacant WBA International welterweight title in March and made two quick defenses against Kris George in June and Walter Fabian Castillo a month ago.
On Saturday, the 24-year-old Kelly takes another step up in competition for what will be the most difficult test of his career.
Avanesyan has lost two of his last three fights, falling to Lamont Peterson in early 2017 and losing via TKO to the quickly rising Egidijus Kavaliauskas in February, but he’s still a former world champion with a victory over Shane Mosley to his name. No one Kelly has fought thus far can sport that kind of resume.
Kelly is still the clear favorite, but he’s embracing the new challenge.
“That’s why I’m here,” Kelly said. “I need someone to come and really try to take my head off. When I get in the ring, a lot of people want to take my head off, because I look like an arrogant sort of guy, but I’ve got a switch when I go into the ring. I’m not the same guy outside as I am in. I feel Saturday night when I go in there, I want to put a performance on.
Avanesyan, meanwhile, foresees the fight going the distance.
“A big fight for me. I like this fight, I want this fight. I’m hungry and I’m ready. I will do my best. It’s a good fight, I think 12 rounds.”