Callum Simpson ready to make Barnsley proud in British title showdown in his hometown
Simpson: “Barnsley means the world to me; I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else”
Ahead of Saturday night’s BOXXER card where Zak Chelli defends the British and Commonwealth Super Middleweight titles against Callum Simpson at Barnsley’s Oakwell Stadium on August 3, Simpson previewed the fight and how he plans to make Yorkshire proud.
In this exclusive chat, Simpson also touched upon a humorous conversation he had with promoter Ben Shalom when he first mentioned main eventing a show in Barnsley.
“When I first mentioned I wanted to do a big show here [Barnsley], I think he thought we still travelled around here using horse and cart.
“Sheffield and Leeds, the two big cities around us, tend to get all the limelight and that’s where lots of the fighters from this part of the world have come from lately.”
Callum Simpson has told SportsBoom.com he aims to put his beloved Barnsley on the map by becoming only the sixth person from the town to win a British title.
The 27-year-old faces reigning champion Zak Chelli for the Lonsdale and Commonwealth super-middleweight belts at Oakwell Stadium this weekend.
Proving the sceptics wrong
Simpson believes a win over the Londoner will ensure the sceptics, which include his own promoter Ben Shalom, view the former mining community in a more positive light.
“When I first mentioned I wanted to do a big show here, I think he thought we still travelled around here using horse and cart,” joked Simpson, referring to the BOXXER chief, who also has Caroline Dubois and Chris Billiam-Smith on his roster of fighters.
“Barnsley means the world to me; I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else,” he assured.
“Obviously, when you first start out, you want to do it for yourself. But as I’ve gone along, and the people here have really rallied behind me, it’s given me even greater incentive because I want to do it for them as well.
“It’s brilliant here. There’s so much going on. No matter what you are into, you can do it here.
“There’s a massive regeneration project still going on and it’s really exciting.
“If I can play some part in helping to make people talk about Barnsley more, recognise what we have, then I’d be so proud to achieve that.”
Legacy in the making
Beating Chelli would be the most significant victory of Simpson’s burgeoning career and stretch his unblemished record to 15 professional outings.
More poignantly, given his love for Barnsley, it would also see Simpson follow in the footsteps of Josh Wale, Robbie Barrett, Matty Askin and Chris Saunders who all have all head British titles since Charlie Hardcastle first won the featherweight version more than 100 years ago.
“They were all brilliant fighters,” Simpson continued. “But none of them were really part of the huge headline shows and that’s what I want to do.
“Barnsley has always had a thriving boxing scene. In the old days, way back, there would be shows here every single week.
“People talk about all of them now. They’re a part of history.
“When the local paper does a feature on the greatest fighters from Barnsley in the future, I want to be up there as number one.
“Because of what Barnsley means to me, if I could do that, my name would be written into the history of the place I love so much.”
Simpson’s rise in the super-middleweight ranks
Although Chelli has lost only twice in 18 bouts, Simpson is regarded as one of the most ruthless finishers on the domestic boxing scene. He has been taken the distance only twice since beating Kiril Psonko on points, in only his second professional appearance, in 2019.
“When I began as an amateur, at Barnsley Star ABC, I was so proud to be introduced as being from Barnsley,” Simpson said.
“Sheffield and Leeds, the two big cities around us, tend to get all the limelight and that’s where lots of the fighters from this part of the world have come from lately.
“Now it’s time for people to talk about Barnsley. Trust me, we are going to have another British champion on Saturday night.”