Welsh Area champ Kieran Gething all set for ring return with new team

Welsh Area super-lightweight champion Kieran Gething (9-2-2, 2KOs) heads back to the ring for the first time in over 22-months on September 25 at the Vale Sports Arena in Cardiff on a Warren Boxing Management and Priority Promotions event.

The 27-year-old from Abergavenny, now training with Tony Borg and Billy Reynolds in Newport, aims to shake off the ring rust against Manchester’s Josh Cook (0-3), who stands at over six-feet-tall and has never been stopped.

It was almost two years ago, in November 2019, when the MTK Global fighter last fought, live on Sky Sports, in the Golden Contract quarter-finals. He reached a stalemate with Southern Area titlist Jeff Ofori in a brilliant battle of champions.

On the extended hiatus, Gething told South Wales Life, “This the first show back in Wales since the lockdown began. I was meant to headline the last show back in Wales, but because of this [elbow] injury… you know, it’s cost me a hell of a lot of time, it’s very close to two years, but I’ve just got to push past it, get back on the horse. It’s a good four-rounder now, it’ll get me back in the rhythm of getting back in the ring in front of crowds and hitting people.”

He elaborated on how he expects his 14th pro fight to go, “It’s going to be a measured performance with a new coaching team. Their experienced, they’ve passed on snippets of advice that I know I’m taking into sparring, so I hope you’ll see that in the fight as well.”

The Welsh Area titlist was due to face unbeaten Irish champion Gary Cully in August last year, but the aforementioned elbow injury thwarted his chance. Instead, the married father of two was forced to stop training and undergo surgery a few months later that same year.

Despite the frustration of not competing for so long, he remains optimistic, stating, “There’s a lot of fighters out there who are not active anymore, who have probably retired from the sport, so the pool is a hell of a lot smaller and a lot more competitive, which is a good thing, but yeah there’s a lot of people in the same boat and we’ve got to get back to where we were.

“Thankfully, I’ve got a little roadmap set out for the year which will hopefully mean I get back to where I was.”

Kieran currently has his eye on the Celtic super-lightweight title, which has been vacant since Craig MacIntyre and Henry Janes reached a stalemate back in June 2018 in Scotland. The first three titleholders were all from Wales, giving Gething added motivation to bring the belt home.

“I’ve got a big trophy cabinet in my living room, it’s nice seeing how full it is now, I’ve got ‘Fight of the Year’ awards, all my amateur accolades, my professional Welsh title, but there’s space there for another title; I just really need to fill that space, feels a bit like a void, that’s been the key motivation for me, it’s not about money at all or showing off to other people, it’s about self-satisfaction for me and getting that next title belt.

“I’ve got the one in mind that I want and with a bit of luck we can build towards it.”

He added, “For me, the drive is internal, self-satisfaction, and I hope that shows through when I’m fighting, I want to keep impressing, I want people to miss me when I’m finished fighting.”

Return of the Dragons

Gething will be joined on the card by Newport’s Craig Woodruff (10-6, 4KOs) who faces unbeaten Frenchman Faycal Rezkallah (5-0-1, 1KO) in an eight-round lightweight contest; Barry Island’s Jason Sillet (5-2) in his first fight in four years; 22-year-old unbeaten middleweight Jay ‘Rhoose Rhino’ Munn (4-0); ‘The Italian Stallion’ Angelo Dragone (5-2) from Carmarthen; as well as debutants Ben Crocker from Swansea; Kyran Jones from Hengoeds; and featherweight Callum Lee.

Kieran Gething is proudly sponsored by Fit-Bag; Autarki and Philip Jones Timber Products.