New York, NY (November 9, 2023) In front of a sold-out crowd in The Theater at Madison Square Garden and a global broadcast audience on UFC FIGHT PASS, The Fastest Rising Star in Boxing, ‘King’ Callum Walsh, (9-0, 8 KOs), of Cork, Ireland shined brightly in a ten-round unanimous decision over Ismael Villarreal, (13-2, 9 KOs), of Bronx, New York.
The exciting seven-bout card promoted by Tom Loeffler’s 360 Promotions had the loud and passionate crowd on their feet from the opening fight.
An electric anticipation filled the famed venue as Walsh made his ring walk from the top levels of the stairs. Following the United States and Ireland’s national anthem’s, Walsh and Villarreal got right to work, exchanging having handed combinations bringing roars from each of their loud fanbases.
The valiant Villarreal slowed down in the middle rounds from the punishing blows from the southpaw Walsh who used an array of skills honed under Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach at the renowned Wild Card Boxing Gym in Los Angeles.
Villarreal scored a knockdown of Walsh late in the tenth round, the first of his career, however the round ended without any further damage.
Scores for Walsh at the end of the battle were 97-92, 97-92 and 96-93.
Said the victorious Walsh, “I appreciate everyone showing up tonight. This is his hometown and he really came to fight, he’s a tough fighter. It took a little for me to get warmed up but this was a real fight against a real fighter, I’m not here to take easy fights. You’re bound to get hit at this level but I proved that I can fight and win tonight. I’m 22-year-old and this fight will only make me better. We clashed heads and he hit me low but it’s a fight so you keep on going throwing your best shots.”
“I wasn’t hurt from the knockdown, more of a push and a trip that put me down. You could see when I got up I was fine. It happens, I have a good chin. I thought I won every round but one or two.”
“I wanted to get the knockout but I’m happy with my overall performance. I got hit too much which is something to work on. I’m going to learn and come back better. I was very happy with the crowd, there was a lot of loud support for both of us.”
Stated promoter Tom Loeffler, “Ismael Villarreal was a very tough opponent for Callum which we knew going into the fight. But this victory and the response from the sold-out crowd truly catapults Callum into the next level of popularity.”
Sacramento, CA knockout artist Cain Sandoval, (11-0, 11 KOs), continued his terror through the junior welterweight division, dominating and stopping Wesley Ferrer, (17-2-1, 8KOs), of Brooklyn, NY. Using a punishing arsenal and constant pressure against Ferrer, Sandoval would earn the stoppage in the fifth round (1:34) of their scheduled ten round bout.
Light heavyweights Umar Dzambekov, (8-0, 5KOs), of Los Angeles, CA and Frederic Julan, (13-3, 10 KOs), fought in a spirited eight round battle with each scoring throughout. Both fighters used battering uppercuts as their prominent weapons over the course of the eight rounder which saw no knockdowns.
Welterweight Gor Yeristyan, (17-0, 14 KOs), dropped Argentina’s Luis Alberto Veron, (20-8-2, 9 KOs), in the third round enroute to a unanimous eight round decision. Scores were 80-71, 79-72 and 78-73.
New York City favorite Brian Ceballo, (16-1, 8 KOs), won his third fight in a row with a fourth-round stoppage of Kenneth McNeil. A resounding body shot called a halt at the time of 2:17.
Los Angeles based featherweight Omar Trinidad, (14-0-1, 10 KOs), impressively took his show on the road with a first-round stoppage (2:27) of Andrew Bentley, (5-8, 1 KO). Trinidad is undefeated since a draw in his pro debut.
In the night’s opener, super featherweight Feargal McCrory, (15-0, 7 KOs), of Coalisland, Ireland won a six round unanimous decision over Nikolai Buzolin, (9-7-1, 5 KO’s). Scores on all three judge’s scorecards were 58-56.
