Joseph Kelly (born 18 May 1964) is a Scottish former

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: *Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing * Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

who won the ABA title and the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...

silver medal at

flyweight Flyweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Flyweight is a class in boxing which includes fighters weighing up to and including 51 kg (112 lb) for a title fight. Professional boxing The flyweight division was the last of boxin ...

in 1982, and after turning professional was British

bantamweight Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports and weightlifting. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In mixed martial arts, MMA, bantamweight is . The name for the class ...

champion in 1992.

Career

Amateur

Born in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, Kelly fought out of the Holyrood ABC. He won the

ABA ABA may refer to: Aviation * AB Aerotransport, former Scandinavian airline * IATA airport code for Abakan International Airport in Republic of Khakassia, Russia Businesses and organizations Broadcasting * Alabama Broadcasters Association, Uni ...

flyweight title in 1982 and the same year fought for Scotland at the

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, taking the silver medal at flyweight after losing in the final to

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

n Michael Mutua.Holland Throw in the Towel
, ''

Glasgow Herald ''The Herald'' is a Scottish broadsheet newspaper founded in 1783. ''The Herald'' is the longest running national newspaper in the world and is the eighth oldest daily paper in the world. The title was simplified from ''The Glasgow Herald'' in ...

'', 25 November 1983, p. 23. Retrieved 1 January 2016 In November 1983 he won the Western District Boxing Championships at flyweight.

Professional

Kelly made his professional debut in January 1985, being stopped in the third round by Bobby McDermott. He was unbeaten in his next five fights, including a draw with former British champion

Kelvin Smart Kelvin Smart (born 12 December 1960) is a Welsh former professional boxer who competed from 1979 to 1987. He held the British flyweight title from 1982 to 1984. Boxing career Smart began his boxing career as a promising amateur, fighting out of ...

, and in October 1986, in only his seventh professional fight, he faced

Dave McAuley David Anthony McAuley, MBE (born 15 June 1961, Larne) is a former professional boxer from Northern Ireland who competed from 1983 to 1992. He held the IBF flyweight title from 1989 to 1992 and challenged twice for the WBA flyweight title, i ...

for the vacant British title; McAuley stopped him in the ninth round. After winning his next six fights, in September 1987 he faced the then unbeaten

Pat Clinton Patrick "Pat" Clinton (born 4 April 1964) is a Scottish former professional boxer who competed from 1985 to 1994. He held the WBO flyweight title from 1992 to 1993. At regional level, he held the British flyweight title from 1988 to 1999, and t ...

at the

York Hall The York Hall, officially known as York Hall Leisure Centre, is a multi-purpose indoor arena and leisure centre in Bethnal Green, London. The building opened in 1929 and it is most famous as an international boxing venue with the first nights o ...

Bethnal Green Bethnal Green is an area in London, England, and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in east London and part of the East End of London, East End. The area emerged from the small settlement which developed around the common la ...

, for the vacant Scottish Area title, with Clinton stopping him in the second round. In March 1988 the two met again, with the vacant British title also at stake. The fight went the distance, with Clinton getting the decision. In February 1990 Kelly stopped Reginald Brown in the tenth round at the

Richmond Coliseum Richmond Coliseum is a defunct arena located in downtown Richmond, Virginia, with a capacity of 13,500 that was most often used for various large concerts. The arena opened in 1971 and the region is looking to replace the aging facility with a la ...

to take the vacant IBF Inter-Continental flyweight title. In February 1991 he faced

Salvatore Fanni Salvatore Fanni (born July 10, 1964) is an Italian former professional boxer who competed from 1988 to 2003. He held the European flyweight title from February 1991 to November 1992, and unsuccessfully challenged for the WBO flyweight title twice, ...

Cagliari Cagliari (, , ; ; ; Latin: ''Caralis'') is an Comune, Italian municipality and the capital and largest city of the island of Sardinia, an Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Italy. It has about 146,62 ...

for the vacant European title, the Italian stopping him inside a minute of the second round. In May that year he made a third attempt to win the (again vacant) British title when he faced Robbie Regan at the National Sports Centre in

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

. Referee Dave Parris gave the decision to Regan by a single point. Kelly then moved up to bantamweight and in October 1991 faced

Ronnie Carroll Ronnie Carroll (born Ronald Cleghorn; 18 August 1934 – 13 April 2015) was a Northern Irish singer, entertainer and political candidate. Music career Carroll was born Ronald Cleghorn in 116 Roslyn Street, Belfast, Northern Ireland, in 1934, th ...

for the vacant British title. The fight ended in a draw and they mat again three months later, this time with Kelly getting the decision to become British champion.Keevins, Hugh (2014)
Pat Clinton crowned champion of the world
, ''

The Scotsman ''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact (newspaper), compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until ...

'', 1 March 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2016 In June he made his first defence of the title, and was stopped in the fifth round by

Drew Docherty Drew Docherty (born 19 November 1965) is a Scottish former Boxing, boxer who was British champion at both bantamweight (1992–1997) and super bantamweight (1999). Married to Caroline Bradshaw and has two children. Career Born in Glasgow and ba ...

. This proved to be Kelly's final fight. Personal Life Kelly married Diane Freckleton. They have two children together, Adam (born 1993) and Robyn (born 1996). Kelly and Freckleton have since divorced.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Joe 1964 births Living people Scottish male boxers Flyweight boxers Bantamweight boxers Boxers from Glasgow Boxers at the 1982 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Scotland Commonwealth Games boxers for Scotland Medallists at the 1982 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games silver medallists in boxing