Fansided

FanSided’s 2018 boxing awards and review of boxing’s best moments

By Jeremy Herriges

Tony Bellew (left) in action against Oleksandr Usyk during their WBC, WBA, IBF, WBO & Ring Magazine Cruiserweight World Championship bout at Manchester Arena. (Photo by Nick Potts/PA Images via Getty Images)
Tony Bellew (left) in action against Oleksandr Usyk during their WBC, WBA, IBF, WBO & Ring Magazine Cruiserweight World Championship bout at Manchester Arena. (Photo by Nick Potts/PA Images via Getty Images) /
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Josh Kelly vs. Kris George
NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE, ENGLAND – JUNE 16: Josh Kelly (white shorts), takes on Kris George (blue and white shorts), during the Commonwealth Welterweight Championship contest presented by Matchroom Boxing at Metro Radio Arena on June 16, 2018, in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. (Photo by Mark Runnacles/Getty Images) /

2018 Boxing Prospect of the Year: Josh Kelly (8-0, 6 KOs)

The term “prospect” is very general. Many boxing media sources define it in different ways, but we consider a prospect as a magnetic fighter that’s been a professional for two years or less. They’ve also had to make an immediate impact in the sport and are trending within the top 100 of their division. A prospect is a fighter that we can see winning a title in the next year or two. Based on that criteria, Josh Kelly is our Prospect of the Year.

Kelly is less than two years into his professional career, but he was a successful amateur who fought in the 2016 Olympics. He’s undefeated, has a 75 percent knockout rating and is making waves in the welterweight division.

Kelly has never fought an opponent with a losing record. Many fighters start their careers by padding their win column with weak boxers who have poor statistics. Kelly’s record is the opposite of that. He defeated former IBF super welterweight champion Carlos Molina in his sixth professional bout. That’s impressive.

Kelly is only 24 years old, has less than 10 fights and is already ranked as a top 25 welterweight by Boxrec.com. He has a chance at a major world title in 2019 if he continues to fight improved competition. He needs to fight outside of the U.K. at some point if he wants to become a worldwide talent. As of right now, his future looks bright, but the welterweight division is loaded with names like Terence Crawford and Errol Spence Jr. We’ll see if he can crack into elite company next year.

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