Kevin Kelley
Encyclopedia
Kevin Kelley is a professional boxer
and former television commentator.
Championships as well as the 1985 119 lb Sub-Novice Championship and the 1986 119 lb Open Championship. In 1988 Kelley advanced to the finals of the 125 lb Open division and was to have met Fred Liberatore in the finals. Kelley was injured and could not fight. Liberatore was declared the Champion by Default-Injury.
In the Olympic box-offs he lost to Carl Daniels
. His record was 62-5.
Featherweight
title and defended it until he lost he TKO to,
Mexican
Alejandro Martín González
, after Kelley failed to come out for the 11th round. Kelley won the title by defeating Gregorio Vargas
by unanimous decision in 1993.
Kelley was then signed to an HBO contract, and remained in title contention for the next decade. More known for being in big fights rather than gaining big victories, Kelley's resume includes TKO losses to boxing legends Marco Antonio Barrera
and Erik Morales
, both of which came during Kelley's career decline.
. In 1997 Hamed flew to the United States to fight there for the first time. His ceremonious arrival on the British Airways Concorde was covered by multiple media outlets. There, he and former two-time WBC Featherweight champion of the world Kevin Kelley fought in Ring Magazine's fight of the year at the Madison Square Garden in New York. This fight marks something of a watershed in Hamed's career, as he was forced, for the first time, to abandon his hands-down style of fighting throughout the entire course of the bout, given the calibre of Kelley. In addition, many of the speed and stamina-related hallmarks of his career, i.e. the prevalence of combination punching, ability to dodge blows etc., seemed to have degraded somewhat; debate still rages as to whether this was the result of increasing age, or of increasing quality of opponent, or both. Nonetheless, despite being dropped three times himself, Hamed put Kelley down for a third and final time to win by a fourth round knockout. This was his first of many fights on HBO. The fight was ranked 100th in Channel 4's 100 Greatest Sporting Moments in 2002.
Kelley knocked out former WBA featherweight champion Derrick Gainer
in 1996, a loss which Gainer later avenged via unanimous decision in 1998.
. On September 28, 2006, Kelley met Carlos Hernández
in the ring. In an upset victory, Kelley put on his best performance in years, dropping Hernandez in the 4th round on route to a UD victory. Hernandez announced his retirement right after this fight.
Kelley was David Díaz's mandatory for the WBC Interim Lightweight Championship, but in his most recent bout, a close decision to former titleist Manuel Medina
.
His current record is 60 wins, 10 losses, and two draws. He has 39 wins by knockout.
television show. The show served as a "hip hop" based boxing broadcast, and was hosted by Ed Lover
.
Kelley now lives in Las Vegas, Nevada and works as a timeshare salesman for RCI.
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
and former television commentator.
Amateur career
Kelley won two New York Golden GlovesGolden Gloves
The Golden Gloves is the name given to annual competitions for amateur boxing in the United States. The Golden Gloves is often the term used to refer to the National Golden Gloves competition, but it also can represent several other amateur tournaments, including regional golden gloves...
Championships as well as the 1985 119 lb Sub-Novice Championship and the 1986 119 lb Open Championship. In 1988 Kelley advanced to the finals of the 125 lb Open division and was to have met Fred Liberatore in the finals. Kelley was injured and could not fight. Liberatore was declared the Champion by Default-Injury.
In the Olympic box-offs he lost to Carl Daniels
Carl Daniels
Carl Bryant Daniels , is a professional boxer in the Light Middleweight division.- Amateur :Southpaw Daniels won the junior world championships 1987 and the Golden Gloves at flyweight....
. His record was 62-5.
WBC Featherweight Championship
Known as the "Flushing Flash", Kelley held the WBCWorld Boxing Council
The World Boxing Council was initially established by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil plus Puerto Rico, met in Mexico City on February 14, 1963, upon invitation of the then President of Mexico, Adolfo...
Featherweight
Featherweight
Featherweight is a weight class division in the sport of boxing. There are similarly named divisions under several Mixed Martial Arts organizations and in Greco-Roman wrestling.-Professional boxing:...
title and defended it until he lost he TKO to,
Mexican
Mexican people
Mexican people refers to all persons from Mexico, a multiethnic country in North America, and/or who identify with the Mexican cultural and/or national identity....
Alejandro Martín González
Alejandro Martín González
Alejandro Martín González was a Mexican boxer in the Lightweight division. González is a former WBC Featherweight and IBA Lightweight Champion...
, after Kelley failed to come out for the 11th round. Kelley won the title by defeating Gregorio Vargas
Gregorio Vargas
Gregorio "Goyo" Vargas is a retired Mexican boxer.-Career:On April 28, 1993, Vargas won the WBC featherweight title from Paul Hodkinson by TKO in round 7. On July 11, 1998, he defeated Tracy Harris Patterson for the IBA super featherweight title by TKO in round 6...
by unanimous decision in 1993.
Kelley was then signed to an HBO contract, and remained in title contention for the next decade. More known for being in big fights rather than gaining big victories, Kelley's resume includes TKO losses to boxing legends Marco Antonio Barrera
Marco Antonio Barrera
Marco Antonio Barrera Tapia is a Mexicanprofessional boxer. He has won numerous world titles in three different weight classes; he is a former two-time WBO super bantamweight , WBC, Lineal, & The Ring featherweight , and WBC & IBF super featherweight champion...
and Erik Morales
Erik Morales
Érik Isaac Morales Elvira is a Mexican professional boxer. He is the first Mexican born boxer in history to win a world title in four weight classes and is the current WBC Light Welterweight Champion...
, both of which came during Kelley's career decline.
Loss to Hamed
Kelley's defeats include losses to Naseem HamedNaseem Hamed
Naseem Hamed is an English former professional boxer.He is the former WBO, WBC, IBF, & Lineal featherweight champion, and European bantamweight champion....
. In 1997 Hamed flew to the United States to fight there for the first time. His ceremonious arrival on the British Airways Concorde was covered by multiple media outlets. There, he and former two-time WBC Featherweight champion of the world Kevin Kelley fought in Ring Magazine's fight of the year at the Madison Square Garden in New York. This fight marks something of a watershed in Hamed's career, as he was forced, for the first time, to abandon his hands-down style of fighting throughout the entire course of the bout, given the calibre of Kelley. In addition, many of the speed and stamina-related hallmarks of his career, i.e. the prevalence of combination punching, ability to dodge blows etc., seemed to have degraded somewhat; debate still rages as to whether this was the result of increasing age, or of increasing quality of opponent, or both. Nonetheless, despite being dropped three times himself, Hamed put Kelley down for a third and final time to win by a fourth round knockout. This was his first of many fights on HBO. The fight was ranked 100th in Channel 4's 100 Greatest Sporting Moments in 2002.
Kelley knocked out former WBA featherweight champion Derrick Gainer
Derrick Gainer
Derrick "Smoke" Gainer is a US born boxer who started out in the featherweight division and now fights in the lightweight division. In 2000, he defeated Freddie Norwood to win the World Boxing Association featherweight title and after four defenses lost to Juan Manuel Márquez, who became super...
in 1996, a loss which Gainer later avenged via unanimous decision in 1998.
Loss to Bobby Pacquiao
Kelley was then outclassed and KO'd by Bobby PacquiaoBobby Pacquiao
Alberto Dapidran Pacquiao, more commonly known as Bobby Pacquiao, is a retired Filipino professional boxer.He is the younger brother of Manny Pacquiao.-Boxing career:...
. On September 28, 2006, Kelley met Carlos Hernández
Carlos Hernandez (boxer)
Carlos Hernández is a retired Salvadoran American boxer. He made boxing history by becoming the IBF super featherweight champion by beating David Santos. Carlos Hernández counted in that fight with the backing up of Alexis Argüello, Roberto Durán and the Salvadoran President, all of whom were at...
in the ring. In an upset victory, Kelley put on his best performance in years, dropping Hernandez in the 4th round on route to a UD victory. Hernandez announced his retirement right after this fight.
Kelley was David Díaz's mandatory for the WBC Interim Lightweight Championship, but in his most recent bout, a close decision to former titleist Manuel Medina
Manuel Medina (boxer)
Juan Manuel Rubio Medina is a boxer, who is better known as Manuel Medina. He is a five-time world featherweight champion...
.
His current record is 60 wins, 10 losses, and two draws. He has 39 wins by knockout.
Outside the ring
While fighting, Kelley also has moonlighted as a color commentator, most notably for HBO. He was the lead on HBO's short lived KO NationKO Nation
KO Nation was a short-lived television series which featured up-and-coming boxers in a hip-hop format. Shown on HBO on Saturday afternoons throughout 2000 and 2001, the show featured dancers and hip-hop performances, and was hosted by Fran Charles and Kevin Kelley. Ed Lover was the "face" of the...
television show. The show served as a "hip hop" based boxing broadcast, and was hosted by Ed Lover
Ed Lover
James Roberts , better known as Ed Lover, is an African-American rapper, actor, musician, radio personality, and former MTV VJ.-Biography:...
.
Kelley now lives in Las Vegas, Nevada and works as a timeshare salesman for RCI.