Manchester’s Jimmy Kelly Jnr is excited for the future, as the 27-year-old is gearing up to launch an assault on the middleweight division in the United States.
Kelly Jnr recently linked up with Greg Cohen Promotions after inking an advisory pact with Andre Rozier’s Havoc portfolio, and the world title challenger has opened up about his plans moving forward.
Kelly Jnr stated, “I’m very excited for the future alongside my manager James Mulvihill, my advisor Andre Rozier at Team Havoc and of course my new promoter Greg Cohen. I’m extremely excited to get the ball rolling stateside and go on the hunt for a shot at the world middleweight title.
“Andre has produced 7 world champions from his Brooklyn base, he knows the game inside out. Greg Cohen has brought fighters on extremely well over the year and got them the opportunities they crave. So I’m in a great position and I’m really excited to see what the next few months will bring.”
Kelly Jnr, who has operated around world level for a number of years now, winning numerous WBO and WBC regional and international straps, also recently linked up with highly respected Manchester trainer Anthony Farnell. Kelly Jnr gave an insight into how his relationship with ‘Arnie’ has played out.
The 160 pounder said, “Working with Arnie Farnell is top class. I’ve really enjoyed training with him so far and I’ve added a lot to my game. I’ve worked with some great trainers over the years and Arnie is definitely one of the best boxing people I’ve ever been around.
“The work we’ve been doing in the gym is to get me ready for when the right opportunity comes. I’m always in the gym and I believe the team I have assembled around me is top class and that will get me the opportunities to fight the likes of Murata or Charlo within the next 12 months. Those are the names I want.”
The boxing world saw one of the fights of the year come from the 160-pound division earlier this month, as Gennady Golovkin and Sergiy Derevyanchenko put on a classic at Madison Square Garden. Kelly Jnr assessed the current state of the middleweight division and gave his take on where he fits into the mix.
He said, “The middleweight division is arguably the most exciting division in world boxing currently. Golovkin and Dereyvanchenko just put on a fight of the year candidate in New York. Charlo is fighting Dennis Hogan, Canelo could come back to middleweight after the Kovalev fight and Murata is an emerging superstar in Japan, so it’s really a great division to be in.
“I need a couple of fights maybe to get myself back in the mix and I’m fully confident Greg Cohen, James Mulvihill, and Andre Rozier will deliver me them, but when the times right I would love to challenge any of the champions, but realistically I feel a clash with Murata or Charlo would be more likely in 2020 if they are both still champions. Both Charlo and Murata seem to be on the hunt for opponents, so I’d be more than happy to fill that gap if the opportunity arose and give them the hardest night of their careers.”
