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Boxing

David Avanesyan vs. Josh Kelly: Welterweight warriors ready to finally do battle

Liam Happe
David Avanesyan vs. Josh Kelly: Welterweight warriors ready to finally do battleDAZN
The anticipated encounter for the European welterweight championship has been a long time in the making.

David Avanesyan (26-3-1, 14 KOs) defends his European welterweight title against Josh Kelly (10-0-1, 6 KOs) in the main event of Matchroom Boxing's latest offering on Saturday in what should hopefully deliver a match-up that has been so close yet so far for years.

Avanesyan vs. Kelly has been postponed multiple times, with the most recent instance coming last month when promoter Eddie Hearn was forced to scrap all of his plans for January by the British Boxing Board of Control's decision to suspend live events for the month.

The decision was made with COVID-19 cases back on the rise and a return to lockdown in the United Kingdom, but at the pre-fight press conference on Thursday, both headliners maintained they would be more ready than they would have been for earlier attempts to make the fight.

"This fight has been coming for a long time," said Avanesyan. "The date has changed many times. I've had many training camps. I hope everything is good tomorrow with the weight.

"I need to win this fight. This is my work. I give everything to win this fight. I'm going to give 100% to take the win. After the fight I will go home to see my children and my family. This is a must-win fight for me. It's a big fight.

"English, Russian and Spanish fans have been messaging me. On Saturday night we're going to show a good fight. I'm going to give everything to win this fight."

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Challenger Kelly said: "I've got great respect for David, and I'll just echo what he said, family and health is the most important thing.

"We've got to get a job done on Saturday. It's my main aim in 2021 to start off with this European Title. I've stepped up to levels that I couldn't even imagine I could do in the gym. I thought last time I was ready, but COVID came and it got cancelled. I was nowhere near ready compared to what I am now.

"All I need to do is go and put a show on on Saturday. I've done a lot of talking this week and I feel like I've expressed myself fully on what I believe will happen. We've just got to do the dance on Saturday.

"I think David is a strong capable fighter. I believe that I'm a big welterweight, and I'm strong. I'm a very strong welterweight. Saturday night is going to be a night for everyone to enjoy I think. Now it's time to quiet down, focus in and get the job done."

Fans in the United Kindom and Ireland can watch Avanesyan vs. Kelly on Sky Sports Arena. Fans in Australia and New Zealand should check their local sports providers.

Everywhere else across the globe, the card will stream live on DAZN. You can sign up here, though if you're in Argentina, Chile or Colombia you need to sign up by downloading the DAZN app from Apple's App Store or Google Play on Android.