One of the biggest prospects in Irish boxing headlines the 3Arena this Friday, as Cork's Callum Walsh takes on Przemyslaw Runowski as he defends his WBC Continental Americas Super Welterweight title. With an 11-0 record, the Cobh boxer has been making headlines across the Atlantic in the US, as he has made the boxing world stand up and take notice of his career. After shows in Boston and Los Angeles, heading in Ireland was always the dream for Walsh.
For Irish boxers, Walsh took the road less travelled. Still an amateur in the time of the pandemic, with gyms closed and unsure on his next move, he made the decision to move to America. With professional boxing not on his mind at this time, training with those at the top level of the sport showed what he is capable of, and helped make his decision to turn professional.
"My main intention was to go there and just train. At the time it was Covid and the gyms here were closed, my main intention was to train and come back and still fight as an amateur. Once I got over there and I started to train with some pros, I was sparring with some pros and I was doing very well. That is when I decided to just turn pro. I came from Cobh, and I was living in the middle of Hollywood, it was crazy at the time. You have a whole team, you have a whole system, it was completely different to anything I was used to."
For Irish boxing fans, the most recent memory of boxing is the Paris Olympics, as Kellie Harrington captured gold once again. In what is seen as the highlight of any amateur boxer, the Olympics was something Walsh did not experience. However, as he watch the action unfold in Paris this summer, he did not feel any regret for how his career had turned out, and admitted he would not be where he is today had he qualified.
"I always thought when I was an amateur the Olympics was going to be my main goal, but different things didn't go my way. I went to America and turned pro. I have no regrets. I didn't watch it and think oh I wish I was there, because I am doing what I am doing. I feel like everything happens for a reason, and that was the reason. I didn't qualify, and now I am headlining the 3 Arena. I am happy with what I am doing".
On Friday, there is going to be some big names in Dublin who have helped Walsh on his journey in his career so far. His promoter is Tom Loeffler, who has promoted legendary names in the sport such as Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko. Also there to support Walsh on Friday will be UFC president and CEO Dana White. Training Walsh is Freddie Roach, who had trained the likes of Manny Pacquiao, Amir Kahn and Julio César Chávez Jr. Walsh revealed after years of success, Roach is still an enthusiastic as ever to add him on to his long list of world champions.
"He has had 40 odd world champions. The amount of experience he has, I couldn't be learning a pro style from anyone better really than Freddie Roach. It's crazy really, he has done so much in the sport already, and he is still continuing to do more. Still training up and cming fighters like me and there's a couple of more. The man never stops. He is doing pads for all of us every day, and I have learned a lot fro Freddie already, so I am looking forward to continuing my career with him."
Also on Friday's card is unbeaten Dublin heavyweight Thomas Carty. Toyko Olympian Emmett Brennan takes on Kerry’s Kevin Cronin in an eight-round bout for the super middleweight Celtic title.
Callum Walsh is originally from Cork and decided during Covid to visit Los Angeles for a few weeks, now - only a few years later - he’s home and defending his UFC title. Callum Walsh was doing nothing in Ireland during the middle of the pandemic. The gyms were closed and there were strict rules in place, so he couldn’t train and was stuck in limbo. Instead of waiting for everything to open back up again, he “took a chance” and decided to take a brief trip to Los Angeles.
What was meant to be a two week break, turned into him building a life there and becoming an undefeated UFC star. He now stands with 9 KOs in his career and is back in Dublin to defend his WBC Continental Americas Super Welterweight title against Przemyslaw Runowski tonight at Dublin’s 3Arena. Callum explained that he planned to stay there for around two weeks, but it turned into a year and a half trip instead. He told RSVP Live: “It was the middle of Covid and nothing was open. That’s when I decided to go to go America and train there. I was only planning on going for a few weeks and then come back home, but I ended up staying for a year and a half.” He added: “I just went over there to see what was going on and now I live there. I have a life there.”
While he intended to be there for a very short period of time, after changing his mind, he wasn’t able to return home for a while. “It was strange, because I only planned on going for a few weeks so I said, ‘See you in a couple of weeks’. Then when I decided to stay there it was a little bit strange. I had visa issues for a while so I couldn’t leave. That’s why I was there for such a long time, a year and a half, without coming on. I had to wait for my visa.”
He credits the decision to move to Los Angeles for the career he has now as a WBC Continental Americas Super Welterweight champion. “There’s a lot more opportunities over there. It’s a bigger place. I was lucky with the gym I got into, Wild Card Boxing with Freddie Roach, he’s a hall of fame trainer. People come through that gym constantly. There’s massive opportunities over there. Everything I have now is from going over there, taking the chance and getting the opportunities from leaving the country. Now I get to come back, it’s unbelievable.”
He chose California because his father lived there at the time. Callum explained: “At the time my dad was living in Los Angeles, so he told me that the gyms were still open there and everybody was still training. That’s when I decided to go over there for a couple of weeks.”
The Cork boxer admitted that it wasn’t easy living there initially, but he’s got a community now, including a girlfriend, fellow UFC fighter Tabatha Ricci, and their pets. He said: “It was very hard right at the start. I was living with my dad so I got lucky there. I was sleeping on his couch for a while. Once I turned pro and I started to make some money, I was able to get my own place in Hollywood. I lived there for close to two years. It’s not the best area so I just moved out of there about an hour away into a nice little private complex. Now I have a life there. I live with my girlfriend and we have two dogs. I have a whole life there compared to when I was first there - it was hard. Now, it’s a lot easier.”
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