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Folkestone boxer Josh Kennedy beats Elemir Rafael on the David Haye undercard at London's O2 Arena

Josh Kennedy says he’s got a taste for the big stage after winning at London’s O2 Arena on Saturday night.

The Folkestone boxer, 24, beat Elemir Rafael on points as part of the undercard for David Haye’s comeback fight – extending his unbeaten record as a professional.

Kennedy may not have stopped the Slovakian but he still put on a show for the growing crowd on the banks of the Thames.

Josh Kennedy catches Elemir Rafael with a left hand at the O2 Arena
Josh Kennedy catches Elemir Rafael with a left hand at the O2 Arena

He said: "It was amazing. When I walked in there, I thought ‘I need to get used to this because this is a bit of me’.

"There were 11,000 people in there when I boxed, maybe more, and of all the undercard fights, they were loudest for mine.

"I couldn’t believe how many people I could hear from Folkestone. As the fight went on, the crowd got louder and louder.

"They were screaming for me when I had him going. It looked like he was going to go over and they were all up, chanting."

The super-bantamweight clash took place over six two-minute rounds.

Kennedy said: "I knew he was going to try to survive and because it was two-minute rounds, he did.

"If it was three-minute rounds, he would have got stopped early on but as soon as it got to the point where it looked like he was going to go over or the referee was going to step in, the bell went."

Read the full story in the Folkestone & Hythe Express.

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