Callum Smith
Former world champ
Possibly. In hindsight it’s easier to say now he’s lost it. If he’d won people would be saying it’s a great move. Stylistically it was always going to be a tough fight. Maybe it was a little bit too soon, maybe he needed a couple more tough fights before but it’s easy to say once the result’s happened.
Tony Jeffries
Sunderland Olympian
It was a terrible mistake by his team. Josh could have been one of the biggest names in world boxing if he was matched correctly. He only had 11 fights and was out of the ring since 2019. To then be put in a 12-round title fight against Avanesyan was stupid. Josh lacked activity and experience.
Mickey Helliet
Boxing manager
It was. I can understand why on paper some might have thought Kelly would win but technically Avanesyan was always going to be a nightmare for Kelly who hasn’t had enough experience against high calibre, swarming pressure fighters to stand a good chance against Ava.
Andy Clarke
Commentator
No. Firstly, nobody gets to make decisions with the benefit of hindsight so it’s an illogical question. Secondly, there were very few people saying it was a mistake this time last week, with most deeming it a 50-50 fight. Decisions can’t be judged purely by their outcome.
