Josh Kelly vs Flavius Biea Predictions: Josh loves a trier. These are the fights he excels in

World-ranked Josh Kelly takes on Romania’s Flavius Biea this Friday, July 6. The bout takes place at the Utilita Arena in Newcastle with Channel 5 screening the bout live on terrestrial television.

Here are my Josh Kelly vs Flavius Biea predictions ahead of this 154lb clash.

Josh Kelly vs Flavius Biea Odds

Kelly is a whopping 1/50 to win here while Biea is 14/1 to get this near-impossible job done in the eyes of the oddsmakers. A draw is there at 20/1 if you fancy the stalemate.

Josh Kelly vs Flavius Biea Fight Preview

Another Friday night, another Josh Kelly bout live from the North East and beamed into the television sets of the nation on the easily-accessible Channel 5. The 16-1-1 super welterweight has regularly cracked one million viewers on the channel with his 2022 win over Troy Williamson watched by a reported 1.8 million.

Kelly is proof positive that you can build a following outside Sky Sports and DAZN. Wasserman stablemate Harlem Eubank has snared a big fight with Jack Catterall off the back of his own audiences on Channel 5. Meanwhile, Kelly scored a place on the Riyadh Season-boosted Anthony Joshua vs Daniel Dubois card last September.

Kelly beat Ishmael Davis by majority decision on the big stage as he continues to establish himself as a force on the world scene. This bout with Biea has similar implications. Kelly is the WBC’s 11th-ranked contender while Biea holds the sanctioning body’s Latino championship. The winner of this will be in a plum position for a future WBC world title shot.

Last time Kelly stepped in with a fighter of world renown, it went very badly indeed. Then-European welterweight champion David Avanesyan pounded him out of there in six rounds. The Armenian had beaten Shane Mosley in the past and gave Lamont Peterson a tough time in a WBA title challenge. Avanesyan would go on to secure further title shots at then-WBO boss Terence Crawford and still-reigning IBF king Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis. In short, the Josh Kelly of 2021 was out of his depth.

The purpose of Kelly’s journey since then has been two-fold. An effort to accrue the experiences needed to fortify himself against a repeat of that dark night of the soul. But also to provide frequent proof that he is not the man Avanesyan put to the lance four years ago.

Six wins have followed with two stoppages. Kelly is not a puncher, but he has outpointed some solid names. Davis was an excellent win and a vital one. Like it or not, Riyadh Season events are where the modern history of the sport tends to be written. Then there’s the Williamson victory, where Kelly scored the British title in front of a huge UK television audience.

Placido Ramirez was an unknown quantity and Kelly treated him like one with a third-round knockout. Lucas Bastida had only lost once, five years earlier, when Kelly outscored him. Gabriel Corzo had not lost at all, coming in at 18-0 and with a WBO Latino belt around his waist. Kelly notched another wide points win in that one. Only Peter Kramer was a soft touch out of the six, with the journeyman used to get Josh’s eye in after the Avanesyan lost. That fourth-round knockout set Kelly up for this tough, successful run he has been on.

Biea is the latest to try and disrupt the Kelly comeback tour. He fits the profile of many such opponents. Not well-known outside his native country but good enough to have a WBC regional crown. One loss on the record, back in 2017, which shows he is in good form but not indestructible. Biea is also tough but not destructive. 12 knockouts in 24 wins is not the output of a devastating puncher.

There are a couple of recognisable names that Biea has beaten. Darleys Perez had a draw and a loss against Anthony Crolla in a pair of WBA lightweight title fights in 2015. Biea beat the shell of Perez in two rounds last year. Juan Carlos Velasco is a gatekeeper who has lost to the likes of Regis Prograis and Mario Barrios. Biea notched a split decision over him. The fact ex-champs like Prograis and Barrios, as well as 7-0 Irishman Callum Walsh, knocked Velasco out is perhaps an indication of the levels. 

This fight is one step back to take another two forward for Kelly. It is not Ishmael Davis in a football stadium. But it is a decent enough competitor on live terrestrial TV. Like it or not, Josh Kelly is bidding to make himself unavoidable to both fans and rivals alike.

Josh Kelly vs Flavius Biea Full Card

Josh Kelly vs Flavius Biea

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Josh Kelly vs Flavius Biea Prediction

A Kelly cruise? I think so. This Biea is not a world-beater but someone who I think will hang in there. Often fighters come to the UK on these sort of assignments to survive. I get that sense from the Romanian.

But Kelly is an old hand at these fights now. He is the perpetual A-side on home soil in the North East. People walk into his territory and walk out disappointed. Watch it happen again on Friday. Kelly on points at 11/10.

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