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The long-awaited and long-overdue meeting between David Avanesyan and Josh Kelly is official for Jan. 30 on DAZN, as the two will meet in the United Kingdom at a venue to be determined.
Avanesyan (26-3-1, 14 KO) and Kelly (10-0-1, 6 KO) were originally slated to fight in Dec. 2018, but Kelly withdrew from the bout on the morning of the show, which has resulted in a lot of back-and-forth talk in the last two years.
Since then, the 32-year-old Avanesyan has gone on a bit of a tear, winning three straight fights in Spain. He upset Kerman Lejarraga for the European welterweight title in Mar. 2019, stopped Lejarraga in the first round of their rematch six months later, and then beat Jose del Rio in a title defense three months after that.
Kelly, 26, has gone 2-0-1, with wins over Przemyslaw Runowski and Wiston Campos, and a disappointing draw with Ray Robinson in June 2019 when Kelly was making his U.S. debut.
“This fight has been a long time coming and it’s finally time to silence my doubters,” said Kelly. “He is the favourite heading into the fight. He has proved how good he is in his last three fights. It’s going to be a good fight, but one I’m quietly confident about.
“I feel like this is a turning point in my career. When I win, then I take it to the next level. A lot in the future is lying on this fight. Two fights ago I fought Ray Robinson, which was a massive step-up. I don’t think people realised how big of a step-up that was, but now I’m fighting Avanesyan, I should get the credit I deserve.”
The Jan. 30 date is stacked already, and could make for an interesting day of trying to figure out what to watch. DAZN will also have Sergey Kovalev vs Bektemir Melikuziev from Russia, while ESPN+ will, at the same U.S. afternoon time, be airing Artur Beterbiev vs Adam Deines, also from Russia. The evening will have a PBC on FOX card headed up by Caleb Plant vs Caleb Truax.
There is currently nothing of real note anywhere scheduled for Jan. 23 or Jan. 29 or Feb. 5 or Feb. 6.