“King” Callum Walsh wins WBC Continental crown
Undefeated Cork super welterweight steam roller Callum Walsh (10-0, 8KO) gave Celtic fans and others in his surging fanbase an early St. Patrick’s Day present by winning the World Boxing Council Continental Americas crown on Friday, March 15.
Walsh comprehensively overwhelmed durable, experienced and hard hitting Kazakh Dauren Yeleussinov (11-4-1, 10KO), in nine torrid rounds at the Theater, Madison Square Garden, with the ref halting it at 1:56.
Tom Loeffler of 360 Promotions praised Callum for staying cool, collected and focused, “There is the pressure of fighting for the WBC Continental Title.
“Callum has got to be on point every single time. He had a great performance, because the opponent’s style was very tricky and elusive and difficult to connect a clean punch upon because of all of his amateur experience, and Dauren is older and more mature.
“So, Callum did a great job in figuring out this style, and breaking him down to get the ninth round stoppage.
“Afterwards, Yeleussinov said he’d never been hit so many times or so hard! That is a testament to Callum in only the 10th fight of his career.
“Every time Callum gets into the ring, he’s learning from fights, especially those which go longer, where he’s got to use his ring savvy and skills.
“Freddie Roach is very happy, Callum is developing nicely. We never want to rush Callum in terms of moving him too fast, but to be in the top 15 of the WBC rankings at this stage of his career, is a huge statement as he’s so young in his career. This is going to be a marathon, building Callum Walsh into a Global Superstar.”
One hugely significant factor involves the brilliantly intuitive guidance from International Boxing Hall of Fame Coach Freddie Roach.
Tom stressed, “With 42 world champions, Freddie knows exactly what he’s talking about and what to expect. When we first talked to Freddie, he said that Callum is one of the most talented fighters that he’s seen and Callum has fully lived up to that.
“You never know how a fighter is going to react to the bright lights, when you’re fighting on a big stage at Madison Square Garden, headlining a televised broadcast. Callum came through with flying colours. Callum is boxing with an IQ well beyond his years to decipher any style put in front of him.”
Tom also promotes Serhii Bohachuk (23-1, 23KO) who is fighting Brian Mendoza for the WBC Interim super welterweight title on March 30 at the T Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Serhii and Callum are at different stages of glittering careers, but there are comparisons to be made and also with Gennady GGG Golovkin who Tom guided to superstardom.
Tom said, “Triple G had one-punch knockout power, while Serhii wears down his opponents. Callum gets a lot of leverage on his punches. Callum is tall has a great right hook and excellent body work. Serhii throws a higher volume of punches, Callum has higher punching power. They are both very effective in this division.”
Walsh’s next fight is already booked in for June 7 at Chumash Casino, Santa Ynez.