The last time Kelly stepped through the ropes was September last year at Wembley, when he saw off spirited Ishmael Davis, a late replacement for Liam Smith.
He was back at the national stadium last week to watch Sunderland win promotion to the Premier League.
“It was unreal, the atmosphere was just crazy wasn’t it,” he says.
If Kelly has his way, he’ll be back at Wembley or another major stadium in the next year or two for a super fight he’s been patiently building and waiting for.
For that dream to become a reality, though, Kelly has to keep winning and he has to take care of business when he takes on hard-hitting Romanian Flavius Biea in Newcastle on Friday night.
A win – which is expected – would be a seventh straight success since the only defeat on his CV to David Avanesyan four years ago.
And how much joy he took from watching Sunderland win last week. Had Kelly made a different choice a couple of decades ago, he might well have been earning his living on the pitch instead of in the ring.
“I was in the academy from 11 until I was about 13,” he says.
“I was in and out of the academy and development centre. I remember playing in one training game and Pickford was in goal!
“I did well. I think I could have done OK in football but when I was making weight for boxing I didn’t really mature as quickly as the other guys, and I made the decision to focus on my boxing.
“I was trying to run both next to each other. I played for Hartlepool a little bit. But it’s hard to focus on both. I remember coming off one day and talking to my dad, a lot of the lads were a lot more mature than me, I was weight draining myself for the boxing and trying to diet and I knew I had to do this or that.
“When I started boxing for England and going places, that was the natural step.”
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An Olympian and former British champion, Kelly chose wisely. But at 31 he still believes his biggest fights and best performances are ahead rather than behind him.
And mentally, he’s never been in a better place.
“My best moment so far was probably my win for the British title against Troy [Williamson],” he says.
“It was such a big domestic fight, especially in the North East. The way I won, the high you get is unbelievable.
“That’s why you need to keep yourself focused outside of boxing and make sure you have hobbies and interests. I can see why people, especially top athletes, might struggle when they retire and try to chase that high because it’s unbelievable.
“You become the sport. You are a boxer, you’re not a person, you’re not Josh, you’re just a boxer and you need to be able to separate that, especially with family and loved ones and friends.
“It helps when you have grounded people around you because it makes sure you’re always in touch with normality. My dad has a knack of doing that.
“I was saying on another interview, really you go through this life and you’re lucky if you get 70, 80 years. Even if you’re the best footballer or boxer or singer, you’re going to die. Obviously you have the memories while you’re here and it’s a great ride you’re on, but I’ve learnt not to take things too serious and just try to enjoy everything.
“Life is too short, you have to enjoy everything. Nothing really means as much as you think it does. You have a million problems until you have one health problem.”
Don’t be fooled into thinking that doesn’t mean the fire isn’t still burning for Kelly.
“If I’m racing someone down the street I want to win,” he says.
“I have that mentality, I want to win at everything. But there’s a fine line between wanting to win and wanting to win too much. If you want to win too much, you mess up. I’m in a good place.
“And that mentality helps because it takes all the pressure off the fight.
“You win and people are going to talk about it for a week, you lose and it’s the same, you draw and it’s the same. I’ve won, drawn and lost and I’m still here.
“I just train as hard as I can, eat as well as I can and be in the best mindset and I go and box. And I enjoy it and what will happen will happen.”
What does Kelly want to happen in the next year or two?
“Big domestic fights, stadium fights, world title fights,” he says.
Which inevitably leads to talk of Connor Benn, who he recently vowed to “knock out” if he ever gets the fight he’s clamouring for.
“When you think of the British fighters with the big names, I’m right up there,” he says.
“I definitely need to be in those big fights. Anyone who says I’m not a big name is chatting s**t, they don’t know boxing.
“I need the credit. But when it’s all said and done I’ll get the credit. I’ll enjoy June 6 and put a good performance in.
“You just have to forget about the opinions and what people say and remember it’s just about you.
“In years to come, I’d like people to look back and think of me as an entertaining fighter who was skilful, had bundles of talent, fulfilled his potential and became the first world champion from Sunderland.
“But if my kids and family are proud of me and look up to me, that’s everything to me really. I know where my potential is, I know what I want to achieve. I don’t want to walk away until I’ve done that.”
Tickets for Josh Kelly vs Flavius Biea at Newcastle’s Utilita Arena on Friday, June 6 are still available to buy HERE.
