“The Irish Aussie he says?” – Kelly questions Hogan’s identity ahead of eliminator

Jimmy Kelly suggests that, unlike Dennis Hogan, he knows exactly who he is, where he is from and, as a result, who he is fighting for ahead of his clash with his fellow WBO World title hopeful on April 7th.

The Manchester-born fighter has been polite with regard to Hogan [26(7)-1(0)-1] when talking to Irish-Boxing.com, but has needled the Kildare man on twitter and even called him a ‘narcissist’ when talking to his local press.

Despite some pleasantries, it appears that the MTK fighter does have some issues with the man ranked one place above him at #4 in the WBO rankings.

Indeed it could be described that Kelly [23(9)-1(1)] is attempting to get under Hogan’s skin and he certainly tried to push a button by referring to the Brisbane-based boxer’s identity. The Hurricane hails from Kildare, but has forged a career for himself in Australia and has been made to feel more than at home Down Under.

As a result, he represents both nations when he takes to the ring and, when asked about the Irish versus English element of the world title eliminator, it’s something Kelly raised.

“My dad’s Irish, he is from Kilkenny. They can play that card if they want,” Kelly told Irish-Boxing.com.

“I’m proud of my Irish roots but I am from Wythenshawe. I am from one of the biggest council estates in Europe. I am really proud of that. Hogan needs to decide who he is. The Irish Aussie he says?”

Kelly, who claims he had a number of options outside of the DDP Sports-promoted fighter, says he isn’t worried about travelling to Australia and is confident he has what it takes to win at the Brisbane Convention Centre on April 7th.

“I am certain of victory. Hogan is obviously a decent fighter. He is not on par with Liam Smith, but he is still up there,” Kelly added before dismissing any away fighter concerns.  

“I boxed worldwide as an amateur so I don’t see going to Australia as being a problem.”

Team Hogan took offence to suggestions from Kelly that Manchester had more boxing talent than the entirety of Australia. However, when questioned on the MEN quote the fighter pointed out he wasn’t disrespecting fighters in the country rather just stating what he believes to be fact.

“No, I said you probably have had more quality fighters from Manchester alone than Australia. Look at the likes of Hatton, Gomez, Crolla, Flanagan and so on,” added Kelly with earnest.