Fourteen years on from sparring against a future boxing superstar, Jimmy Kilrain Kelly has now joined Tyson Fury as a world champion.
Kelly shocked the world at the weekend as he picked up the WBO Global Middleweight Championship belt with a stunning win over Kanat Islam.
The Manchester boxer beat the previously undefeated Islam via a majority decision in Florida, with scores of 96-94, 97-93 and 95-95 going in favour of the 29-year-old.
Having gone into the bout as a big underdog, Kelly produced the performance of his career so far as he mixed up his attacks and kept Islam off-balance with his jabs and lead rights, with his victory confirmed after 10 pulsating rounds in Plant City.
His title win comes seven years after he last fought for a world title against Liam Smith, with the Liverpool fighter coming out on top back in 2015 in Manchester.
But Kelly heads back home a hero after his efforts in the US, and he was perhaps destined for the big time from an early age.
Kelly began his boxing journey as an amateur at Jimmy Egan’s gym, and it was there that he met fellow Wythenshawe lad Fury.
Despite the two competing at different weights, and an age gap of nearly four years, the pair would work together, and there’s even footage of a 15-year-old Kelly sparring with an 18-year-old Fury back in 2008.
Speaking to the Manchester Evening News after his win at the weekend, Kelly said: “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.”
In an interview with Irish Boxing in 2015, Kelly added: “He (Fury) is actually a really nice, family orientated guy. He has so much determination and confidence and he’s certainly someone I look up to.”
Since their days at Egan’s gym, Fury has of course gone on to become one of the biggest names in boxing, becoming heavyweight champion against Wladimir Klitschko in 2015 before completing an unforgettable trilogy of fights against Deontay Wilder.
And Kelly has now joined his old sparring partner on the world stage, and can look forward to more huge nights as he looks to defend his world title.
