Jimmy Kilrain Kelly (born 1 September 1992) is a British

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional fights are supervised by a regulatory auth ...

. He held the

WBO The World Boxing Organization (WBO) is an organization which sanctions professional boxing bouts. It is recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) as one of the four major world championship groups, alongside the World Boxin ...

Inter-Continental

light-middleweight Light middleweight, also known as junior middleweight or super welterweight,PeBoxRec/ref> is a weight class in boxing but also may include other combat sports. Boxing The light middleweight division (also known as junior middleweight in the Intern ...

title and challenged for the

light-middleweight title in 2015.

Amateur career

As an amateur, Kelly won three junior ABA titles and two national schoolboy titles. Before turning professional at 19, Kelly's amateur record stood at 70-5.

Professional career

Light middleweight

Kelly vs. Rios

Kelly outpointed Martin Fidel Rios over ten rounds at the

AO Arena Manchester Arena (currently known as AO Arena for sponsorship reasons) is an indoor arena in Manchester, England, immediately north of the city centre and partly above Manchester Victoria station in air rights space. Prior to the opening of ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

capturing the WBO Inter-Continental light middleweight title with a unanimous decision win with the scorecards 99-89, 100-87 and 98-89.

Kelly vs. Smith

In 2015, Kelly faced Liam Smith for the WBO light middleweight title. Kelly lost in the seventh round by TKO.

Kelly vs. Kostov

Kelly became the WBO Inter-Continental light middleweight titleholder again, knocking down Kostov in the first round and twice in the fourth where the fight was halted by TKO.

Middleweight

Kelly vs. Islam

In ProBox Promotions’ main event in

Plant City, Florida Plant City is an incorporated city in Hillsborough County, Florida, United States, approximately midway between Brandon and Lakeland along Interstate 4. It is part of the Tampa Bay area. The population was 39,764 at the 2020 census. Despite ma ...

, Kelly defeated middleweight contender Kanat Islam handing him his first loss despite being the underdog. Kelly captured the WBO global middleweight title with scores 95-95, 96-94 and 97-93, a majority decision.

Catchweight

Kelly vs. Munguía

Kelly faced former WBO junior middleweight champion

Jaime Munguía Jaime Aarón Munguía Escobedo (born 6 October 1996) is a Mexican professional boxer. He held the WBO junior middleweight title from 2018 to 2019. Professional career Light middleweight Munguía vs. Ali Munguía turned professional in ...

at the

Honda Center Honda Center (formerly known as the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim) is an indoor arena located in Anaheim, California. The arena is home to the Anaheim Ducks of the National Hockey League. Originally named the Anaheim Arena during construction, it w ...

Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States, part of the Greater Los Angeles area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orang ...

in a catchweight bout with Kelly weighing in at 164 pounds and Munguía 165. Kelly suffered three knockdowns before the referee stopped the bout in round five.

Personal life

Kelly was born on 1 September 1992 in

and grew up in the

Wythenshawe Wythenshawe () is an area of Manchester, England. Historically part of Cheshire, in 1931 Wythenshawe was transferred to the City of Manchester, which had begun building a large housing estate there in the 1920s. With an area of approximately , ...

area of the city. His middle name, Kilrain, was taken from the 1800s bare-knuckle boxer Jack Kilrain. Kelly's father, a former amateur boxer, was born in Ireland. Before every fight, Kelly takes a blade of grass from his mother's graveside and places it in his

hand wraps A hand wrap or wrist wrap is a strip of cloth used by boxers (and participants in other combat sports) to protect the hand and wrist against injuries induced by punching. It is wrapped securely around the wrist, the palm, and the base of the th ...

Professional boxing record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Jimmy 1992 births Living people Irish male boxers Middleweight boxers 21st-century Irish sportsmen