Triple champion Jay Harris says his patience is being tested

Jay Harris likes being at the sharp end. The British, Commonwealth and European flyweight champion has spent his career making high stakes, split-second decisions in the cut and thrust 112lb division, either setting the tone and challenging his opponent to stay with him or instinctively reacting to their every move.

Waiting doesn’t sit well with the 33-year-old who has an armful of titles and a mandatory challenger but no fight date. 

“I know that Conner Kelsall has been made mandatory [for the European title] but nothing has been signed and no offers have been made to me,” Harris, 21-3 (11 KOs), told BoxingScene. “I know Lee Eaton is trying to figure something out and get a deal done or maybe get me another fight abroad but I’m not sure what’s going on. It’s driving me mad.”

Harris has always been ready and willing to challenge himself. During his early career he would step up as soon as an opportunity presented itself and only came unstuck when then-WBC flyweight champion Julio Cesar Martinez out-battled him over 12 competitive rounds in February 2020.

A two-time Commonwealth/European champion, Harris believes that his accomplishments and reputation should make him a man in demand, figuring that up and coming fighters should be desperate for a crack at his titles and that established champions should see him as a tried and tested gauge of their own abilities. 

“I just don’t understand it. It makes no sense to me,” he said. “We were chasing bigger fights too. I think we were trying to chase Jackson Chauke [South Africa’s IBO champion] for a while but we’ve heard he might be going up to fight the IBO super flyweight champion [Ricardo Malajika]. I don’t know where that leaves the flyweight title. It’s all up in the air at the moment. I’m not sure what’s going on.

“I thought I would have been out by now. I fought in February. I knew I was getting married in June but got a phone call asking me how quick after the wedding I could get ready. I said eight weeks would be fine because I didn’t plan on having a honeymoon. Then it went quiet again.”

Harris has been campaigning at title level for seven years, routinely proving himself to be too good for his British and European peers.

Apart from a 19-month spell which saw him lose his unbeaten record to Martinez and then suffer competitive but painful stoppages at the hands of world-class operators Ricardo Sandoval and Hector Calixto, Harris has been rock solid.

Over the past year, a couple of Harris’ domestic rivals decided to test whether the losses had sapped any of his desire. Firstly, Tommy Frank discovered to his cost that the Welshman is as determined as ever when he was worn down and stopped in 10 rounds, and then, in February, the unbeaten Commonwealth and European champion Connor Butler found Harris too sharp, too smart and too fit and lost his titles by unanimous decision. 

There haven’t been any call outs since and – from the outside at least – it looks like his fellow European flyweights saw the way he dealt with a young, talented fighter like Butler and decided to leave Harris to his own devices. 

“Maybe. I don’t know. When I fought Tommy Frank, Dennis Hobson thought that [he was at the end]. He thought the same against Butler and I proved them all wrong again,” Harris said. “It’s a frustrating time for myself. To be fair it’s quite hard to stay motivated when you’ve got nothing in the pipeline. I train every day but when you get a date you can go up a gear and use it as extra motivation. 

“They’re trying to figure something out but I don’t know what, where or who. I don’t know if I’ll be at home, away, defending or challenging for another title. I don’t know.

“If I could have it my way, before I retire I’d like another shot at the big one. That is my ideal goal. I thought that winning the Commonwealth, British and European titles again would have chucked me forward to maybe challenge for one of those again. Even if it put me in contention for something like an IBO title, it’s a stepping stone towards another big fight. It doesn’t seem to work that way.”

A British challenger may just be emerging. With his will-o’-the wisp style and confident nature, the unbeaten Kelsall, 12-0 (1 KO), is developing quickly and correctly. Kelsall is a former English champion and, in June, he put in a clever display of boxing to outpoint Connor Quinn and win the Commonwealth title. 

As Harris mentioned, the Yorkshireman has been installed as the mandatory challenger for his European title. He paid close attention to Kelsall’s fight with Quinn and he would happily squeeze in a defence of his belts if his team can’t secure him a bigger opportunity.  

“I don’t think he bangs. I just thought Conor Quinn boxed the wrong fight,” Harris said. “I thought he would have done a lot better than what I watched. He just stood off him instead of making life hard for Connor Kelsall. He was constantly running; he didn’t stop moving to be fair to him. He’s gotta be fit to do it, but if you’ve got someone who’s decent, moving forward and cutting the ring down, well, there’s not much you can do then is there?”