‘King’ Callum Walsh is the new Irish fighting phenom
Ireland has taken the boxing scene by storm over the last decade and fans from all over the globe are tuning in to watch Irish natives lace up and go to war.
Heavyweight boxing has been ruled over by the ‘Gypsy King’, Tyson Fury, an unpredictable fighter with a larger than life persona who dethroned long-time overseer of the division, Wladimir Klitschko, and was also one half of one of the greatest trilogies Heavyweight boxing has ever been graced with, sharing the ring on three unforgettable occasions with ‘The Bronze Bomber’ Deontay Wilder.
Women’s Light and Super Lightweight divisions have been home to Irish royalty Katie Tylor, who consistently finds herself fighting in epic wars, and is currently preparing to try to regain her position as Undisputed Super Lightweight Champion in a rematch with Chantelle Cameron.
There’s new generation of fighters is emerging across all weight classes, fighters such as Moses Itauma, Devin Haney, Ryan Garcia and Junto Nakatani are all making waves in the fight scene. Along with them, a new Irish fighting dignitary seems to be emerging.
‘King’ Callum Walsh (9-0, 7KO), the current WBC USA Silver Super Welterweight champion, has soared through the Super Welterweight rankings and seems a worrying threat to the leaders in the division.Raised in Cork, Ireland, and now residing in Los Angeles, Walsh trains out of the esteemed Wild Card Boxing Gym (something that was never originally planned), under Hall of Fame trainer, Freddie Roach. Famed for his work with eight-division world champ Manny Pacquiao, Roach, who has trained 27 world champions to date, has sharpened Walsh’s toolkit, and turned him from a promising amateur into a threatening professional fighting force.
The self-proclaimed ‘King’ from Cork works extremely well behind his snappy, ramrod jab, setting up well-timed, devastating power punches. There is a sense of control with his shot selection, something not seen often among young fighters; Walsh is cautious, not allowing himself to get carried away headhunting. He works the body well and often, and showcases some sublimely slick, clever movement, finding unseen angles to exploit hard-to-see openings.
Early this morning, the young Irishman took to the ring in New York facing his toughest challenge to date in Ismael Villarreal (13-2, 9KO). Once-beaten Villarreal put up a valiant effort across 10 rounds, even knocking Walsh down in the last three minutes, much to the delight of his local fans who only had to travel 10 miles across town from The Bronx.
It was not enough for the New Yorker, Villarreal, to come away with a win despite the late knockdown. Walsh’s superior skill and never-ending output were on display as he consistently landed flurry combinations and heavy shots throughout the 30-minute bout.
It was a fight we hadn’t seen from Walsh thus far, with Villarreal doing a good job instigating a brawl and hindering Walsh from boxing on the outside. While Walsh was still the superior in-fighter, there were periods where he got carried away standing toe-to-toe and Villarreal was able to pile adversity onto the young fighter.
The 22-year-old looked uncomfortable at times during the bout, a far cry from what was expected after a dominant opening two rounds from the Wild Card boxer. His tenacity prevailed in the end, and even when eating powerful shots, Walsh was able to return the favour landing some beautiful combinations of his own, stunning Villarreal with his southpaw straight left hands multiple times throughout the bout.
Ultimately, all three judges scored the bout in favour of the Irishman's relentless output, with two judges ruling at 97-92, and the third with 96-93.
It was perfect matchmaking for the ‘King’ at this stage in his career. Villarreal was no pushover and the experience will give Walsh plenty to think about going forward.
The Irish phenom’s performance will see him move to 9-0 and catapult into the top 25 in the division, currently topped by Jermell Charlo.
He possesses an impressive resume for such a young fighter. In Walsh’s previous fight, he forced a stoppage after the fourth round against a formidable Juan Jose Velasco, who has shared the ring with current WBC Super Lightweight Champion Regis Prograis.
Just a few months earlier ‘King’ Walsh stopped Carson Jones, who has previously stood toe-to-toe with recently retired boxing royalty, Kell Brook.
While an impressive start to a career, fans will now be expecting Walsh to continue taking tough fights, if he is truly serious about contending for a title in the near future. It looks as though an exciting showdown could be on the horizon, a battle between prospects, as Walsh eyes up a bout against Puerto Rican hot-shot Xander Zayas (17-0, 11KO).
The Boricua boxer put together an impressive string of victories, chalking up 11 stoppages in a growing resume. NABF and NABO champion Zayas is scheduled to face Jorge Fortea on December 9th, who will likely be his toughest opponent to date, and a win should see Xayas move comfortably into the top 40, making a potential clash ever more intriguing. Both boxers have passionate followings from their respective countries.
It’s doubtful that 21-year-old Zayas will be Walsh’s next fight as, while the ability of Zayas is difficult to measure this early on in his career – just as is Callum’s – Zayas does look to present a huge step up in competition and is someone that a couple more tune-up fights couldn’t hurt in preparation for.
Activity in the ring is a must for any young and upcoming fighter learning ther trade. Hall of Famer Freddie Roach has always been an advocate for fighting often – actually having 53 pro bouts within eight years himself and over 300 street fights – and this is rubbing off well onto the Super Welterweight phenom. Walsh has had all nine of his bouts within two years of turning professional. If he continues taking fights often and backing up his record with positive results, it would not be a far cry to expect Walsh ranked as a genuine Super Welterweight contender within the next year.
We will have to wait to see what the future holds for ‘King’ Callum Walsh, but, from what we’ve seen so far, the future looks bright.
WBC Prospect of the Week: Callum Walsh
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