Hard graft is paying off for Kays

Jon Kays

HARD graft on the building site ahead of his latest fight appeared to do Hurst Cross super-featherweight ace Jon Kays no harm as he turned in a terrific knock-out performance at the Manchester Velodrome.

Kays extended his professional record to 21 wins from 26 fights on Saturday as he stopped Michael Stupart in spectacular style inside three rounds.

A devastating one-two combination, followed up by two crushing body shots, floored Scot Stupart, and now ‘2-Smokes’ is looking forward to a potential crack at the WBO European title in September or October.

It was a terrific fifth knock-out victory of his career against Stupart.

Kays told the Chronicle: ‘During most of my training camp before the fight I was helping my dad build a double extension, and it was hard work.

“With all the mixing, lifting, hod carrying and moving stuff around the site I was using muscles I wouldn’t normally do, and it did help build my overall strength up.

“When I hit Stupart with that first combination and it floored him, he must have thought he’d been hit by a ton of bricks.”

It was Kays’ most clinical performance in a number of years, with the 32-year-old now gunning for Manchester rivals Adrian Gonzalez.

The much less experience, but equally talented Gonzalez was initially pencilled in to fight Kays at the Velodrome, but he pulled out of the proposed contest.

“Hopefully he’ll fight me later in the year now, and that would be for the European title,” Kays said.

“Maybe he’ll pull out, I just don’t know yet. If he does again I’ll have to start calling him ‘sicknote’.

“I feel great right now, though. I’m 32, but like they say, I’m like a fine wine, I’m maturing and getting better the older I get.”

Terry Flanagan won the vacant WBO world lightweight title as the top of the bill feature at the Velodrome, but it proved a less-than satisfactory manner of victory.

Home favourite Flanagan landed the all-important win, but only after opponent Jose Zepeda had dislocated his shoulder very early in the fight and was forced to quit at the end of the second round.