Manchester woke up to a new world champion on Saturday after Jimmy Kilrain Kelly’s stunning win over undefeated Kanat Islam in Florida.
Kelly will be taking the WBO Global Middleweight Championship home back to Wythenshawe with him after upsetting the odds to beat Islam via a majority decision in Plant City.
Scores of 96-94, 97-93 and 95-95 saw the 29-year-old come out on top at the Whitesands Event Center, and signal the biggest win of the Manchester fighter’s career.
The Manchester Evening News spoke to Kelly after his momentous win out in the States to find out more about Manchester’s newest world champion.
Wythenshawe lad
Kelly was always destined to become a boxer. He followed in the footsteps of his father, Jimmy Snr, who had been on the amateur scene with over 100 fights to his name, and his grandfather, another amateur boxer.
It was that boxing heritage where he got his middle name, having been named after bare-knuckle fighter Jake Kilrain, who made a name for himself during the late 1880s as a prizefighter.
Kelly followed his dad down to Jimmy Egan’s gym in Wythenshawe and made his first steps in the amateur ranks, winning three junior ABA titles and two schoolboy titles before turning professional at 19.
“I got into boxing through my dad, he boxed with Jimmy Egan. It’s a decade next week that I turned professional,” Kelly said.
“When I was an amateur, my dad, Jimmy Egan, Steve Egan all helped me along the way. When I turned professional, it was the likes of Maurice Core.
“I’ve had a lot of support, a lot of good people who have helped me through my career. For this fight, I had Arnie Farnell, and I’ve had a perfect training camp.”
It was at Jimmy Egan’s gym where Kelly would meet future world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, with the two Wythenshawe lads regularly training together.
“I used to box with Tyson when he was at Jimmy Egan’s, I was training alongside him there. I think I’ve got a video of myself sparring with him when I was 15, and he was massively taller than me!
“He inspires me to do well. I remember when we were young and he told me he was going to be a world champion, and he fully believed it back then.”
Title shots
Having turned professional, Kelly made an impressive start to his career, going 16-0 and picking up various belts along the way.
Having won the WBO’s Inter-Continental Super Welterweight title with a unanimous decision against Martin Fidel Rios in 2015, his first world title shot came into view against Liam Smith later in the year.
A classic Liverpool vs Manchester rivalry – Kelly is a Manchester United fan and wore the club’s shirt in the build-up in response to Smith wearing a Liverpool shirt – it was the Merseyside fighter who came out on top with a TKO in the seventh round at the Manchester Arena.
Kelly got himself back on track with seven straight wins, before suffering the second defeat of his career against Dennis Hogan in 2018, with the unanimous decision going against him in Australia.
He took on just two more fights as he chased another world title bout amid the Covid-19 pandemic, but his chance arrived as Kanat Islam eventually agreed to a fight.
“I just stayed patient, and I knew the opportunity would come up,” Kelly said. “Even through all the hardship, I wasn’t going to let anyone beat us, so I’m over the moon.”
World champion
Kelly was a big underdog heading to Florida. Islam had made short work of plenty of his previous opponents over the years.
But he couldn’t find a way past Kelly, with the Wythenshawe fighter mixing his attacks up and keeping Islam off-balance with his jabs and lead rights, before his big moment was confirmed after 10 rounds.
“It feels good. I feel a bit sore, but I’m buzzing! I’ve come away to America and got the win.
Asked what the key was to his victory, Kelly replied: “Just patience. I knew he was a dangerous opponent, he was 28-0 with 22 knockouts, a former Olympian, and I was a 1/25 underdog.
“I just knew that my experience would come through, and I just stayed patient and stuck to my game plan.”
What’s next?
Kelly now heads back home to Manchester knowing there will be plenty of names lining up to try and take his title off his hands.
They’ll all have to wait for now though, as he gets the chance to reunite with his family after spending so much time out in the States.
“First off, I’m looking forward to going home and giving my kids a big hug. I’ve been away for quite a bit for the fight and I can’t wait to get back and see them.
“I’ll let my manager have a think, but it’s got to be big fights, it’s got to be elite, so we’ll see what comes up.
“A homecoming fight in Manchester would be good, but I’ve got to go with whatever is the most financially beneficial option. I’ve got two kids, and I want to set them up for life.”
