“King” Cullum Walsh
Photo: Brad Balfour
Report by Brad Balfour
On the Sunday night of St Patrick’s Day weekend, Irish boxers hit New York in The Theater at Madison Square Garden bringing an array of puglistic skills with them. At the top of the ticket was ‘King’ Callum Walsh, (13-0, 11 KOs), of County Cork. This son of Ireland delivered a stunning first round knockout accomplished in 2:45. Scotland’s Dean Sutherland, (19-2, 7 KOs), surprisingly went down hard and the match was over as fast as it started. The stoppage is a sure-fire candidate for ‘Knockout of the Year.’
Currently world ranked #6 by the World Boxing Council and International Boxing Federation, Walsh defended his WBC Continental Americas Super Welterweight Title for the third time and headlined at the famed venue for the third time. Said the victorious Walsh, “I feel very good. He was a great opponent, I know at this weight every opponent is going to be tough and I keep getting stronger and better. I am destined to be one of the best fighters in the world. I could fight again tonight. I could fight next week. Where’s Dana White? Nobody beats the Irish, Especially on St. Paddy’s Day!”
To that, promoter Tom Loeffler added, “No other young fighter in boxing is selling thousands of tickets in multiple locations (New York City, Dublin, Los Angeles, Boston) and impressing fans with these types of knockout performances, We have big future plans for Callum and they definitely include fighting at Madison Square Garden on St. Patrick’s Day Weekend.”
When asked about the evening’s big success — how it got more and more packed as the evening went on — what’s the next step? Loeffler stated: “You saw how loud the fans were tonight. with the type of performances, Fergal had a great performance. Callum had a tremendous knockout victory. that was unexpected. I thought Callum would win. I thought most likely he would go the distance. But having that first round knockout like that was definitely not expected. This is the third fight at Madison Square Garden with Callum.”
What made you guys think of this idea as opposed to any other? “Well, you got Ireland and the Irish boxer movement. You’ve got St. Patrick’s Day, and I have a long history of Madison Square Garden, promoting the Triple G fights and the Klitschko fights here. It’s a natural fit. I have a great relationship with the guys at the Garden. When I proposed bringing Callum to the Garden, it worked very well. We’re building him to sell tickets in New York. With everything else going on, the Big East tournament going on, the Rangers and the Knicks and everything like that. But Callum is definitely making his mark for New York City boxing.
“With performances like this, it’s hard not to believe that he’s going to become a world champion. We have a date in April, going back to L.A., have a date April 19th, and then we have a date May 21, and then June 21. We already have our dates planned out for the next three months. For St. Patrick’s Day, for Callum Walsh, yes. With a performance like this and a crowd like this, definitely.”
Co-featured in the super lightweight division, former world title challenger Feargal McCrory, (17-1, 9 KOs), overcame a fourth-round knockdown to stop veteran Keenan Carbajal, (25-5-1, 17 KOs), of Phoenix, AZ in the eighth stanza. In an exciting back and forth battle, the southpaw McCrory dropped Carbajal in the seventh round from a flurry of punches. Following up in the eighth, Carbajal hit the canvas again as referee Arthur Mercante Jr. called a halt to the onslaught at the :23 mark.
Stated McCrory, “It’s St Paddy’s day, we all need a little drama in here. The knockdown occurred when he hit me with a good shot. My team did a great job from there on. In the gym they taught me how to deal with adversity. We had a great game plan for this fight that we worked on in the gym and tonight we executed it to perfection. Keenan, thanks for coming and thanks for putting on a great show. You’re a great fighter. I will keep working and keep winning and I can’t wait to get a world title shot.”
Fighting in a super welterweight rematch, Emmet Brennan, (6-0, 1 KOs), of Dublin, Ireland, was once again too strong against Kevin Cronin, (8-3-1, 4 KOs), of County Kerry, Ireland. Scores over 10 rounds were unanimous for Brennan on all three scorecards even though they were close.
Noted Brennan, “8 rounds to 2” I called it before it was announced. The first fight wasn’t a robbery. He’s a warrior and he came to get it again. This fight was a lot easier than I thought it would be. It was our game plan. We were more prepared for this fight. The first one seems like we were not prepared at all.
“Now I’m 6-0. It was my first 10-rounder and now I’m looking for bigger fights and bigger opportunities. Hopefully Dana and TKO Boxing will see that I’m ready and they can make it happen. The first fight didn’t feel like a win with all the noise that went on afterwards. I’m glad I had the chance to prove myself.”
Photo: Brad Balfour
Opening the main card, heavyweight Thomas Carty, (9-1, 8 KOs), of Dublin, Ireland, sustained a bad left leg injury in the second round against Dajuan Calloway, (12-3, 9 KOs), of Cleveland, OH. The bout was called to a stoppage after the second round once the ringside physician ruled Carty couldn’t continue. Calloway was awarded a technical knockout victory.
Longtime local favorite, Cletus ‘The Hebrew Hammer’ Seldin, (29-1, 23 KOs) won an eight-round majority decision over Yeis Gabriel Solano, (15-5, 10KOs), in the super lightweight division. Scores were 76-76, 77-75 and 78-74. Said, Seldin, “I have a lot of respect for my opponent, he was super durable. But I stuck to my game plan and deserved to win.” In the ring, Seldin and his wife Jessica announced her pregnancy in the ring following the victory.
Pro debuters Sean O’Bradaigh of New York, NY and Jefferson Almeida of Campo Grande, Brazil
fought to an entertaining four round majority draw. Scores were 39-37 (O’Bradaigh) and 38-38, twice.
Opening the show featherweight Donagh Kerry, (1-0), of Ireland, swept all four rounds in his professional debut against Geral Alicea-Romero, (0-2), of Naranjito, Puerto Rico. Scores were 40-36 on all three scorecards.
Among the notables attending the matches were UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) CEO/president Dana White and actress Selma Blair accompanied by her service animal.