Callum Walsh Faces Toughest Challenge Yet, Scores 9th Round TKO

Callum Walsh Faces Toughest Challenge Yet, Legendary Promoter Tom Loeffler’s Reaction and post-fight reaction from Cletus “The Hebrew Hammer” Seldin.

Callum Walsh took home his 10th win and 8th by stoppage this Friday at The Theater at MSG when the ref was forced to stop the fight halfway through the 9th. It may not have been as clean of a performance as Walsh and legendary trainer Freddie Roach had hoped. Still, against a gritty Dauren Yeleussinov, Walsh showed that he had the ability to dig deep and fight through
adversity to get his hand raised and win the WBC Continental Americas Super Welterweight Title. Yeleussinov presented Callum with an awkward style and an extensive amateur pedigree; Yeleussinov gave the 23-year-old his toughest challenge yet.

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Walsh started the fight with his usual high pace, landing several combos to the body and the head without much resistance from the 37-year-old Kazakh. Rounds 2 through 4 were more of the same; Walsh’s power punches to Yeleussinov negated much of his game plan. Although Callum was landing at will, Dauren Yeleussinov kept coming forward, and halfway through the
scheduled 10, it was the man from Kazakhstan who started to land his power punches. Yeleussinov landed a great shot to the body in the 5th that affected the Irishman, whose pressure and output were beginning to wane. While Walsh was still in control through the later rounds, Yeluissinov was game as ever and continued to land, finding success with an overhand right on a
few occasions that would push Callum back. It was the 7th round where Callum started to shut down Dauren once again, who was hurt to the body on multiple occasions.  Entering the 9th, although Walsh had been in control of the entire fight, Yeleussinov and Walsh were both visually beaten up. After a flurry of punches to the body and head against the ropes, referee Eric Dali stopped the bout at 1:56 in the 9th round.

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While Walsh could not speak to the media due to being transported to the hospital after his hard-fought win, the head promoter of 360 Promotions, Tom Loeffler, reacted to Walsh’s performance.

“It’s another learning experience and another nine rounds in the bank. He’s only got 10
fights in his professional career. So each fight Callum is learning. I think he’s getting better with
every fight”.  He also added, “We never want to rush a young fighter like Callum. But he never
turns down an opponent, and Freddie doesn’t turn down an opponent.”

“King” Callum Walsh, now 10-0 with 8 knockouts, will return to the ring June 7th at the Chumash Casino Resort, live on UFC Fight Pass, as he continues to climb the rankings and achieve his aspirations of a world title. The card also featured a victory from Ireland’s Feargal McCrory, who forced the referee to wave off the fight after landing a hard body shot early in the third. While the stoppage seemed to come early, McCrory’s early aggression helped him improve to 16-0, and he is now the WBA
Inter-continental Super featherweight champion.

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Cletus “The Hebrew Hammer” Seldin made his return to the ring in a competitive fight against Ecuadorian Jose Angulo. Cletus knocked down Angulo in the first and second rounds, but after the second, Angulo woke up and started landing shots of his own. Round 3-8 were all very competitive, but The Hebrew Hammer took home his 28th victory to improve his record to
28-1 after the judges scored it 78-72, 77-73, and 75-75. Perhaps a bigger win on the night for Cletus was his engagement; after his victory in the ring, Cletus got down on one knee and proposed to his now fiancée.

Cletus reacted to his performance after the fight.

“I didn’t take any opportunities, I didn’t want to blow it, I was already up… the kid was
very technically sound and had heavy hands… I didn’t want to lose it all, no one wants to
propose after a loss you know.”

Long Island native Rashat “The Albanian Bear” Mati improved to 15-0 on the night as he took home a UD victory over a game Irving Macias. Mati looked sharp early through the first two rounds. However, he had to fight through an elbow injury sustained early in the fight to take home a hard-earned win and keep his undefeated record.

Opening the card was Joseph Ward, the Irish light-heavyweight southpaw who faced off against 34-fight veteran Derrick Webster. Following a loss due to injury in his debut, Ward rallied off 10 wins in a row prior to tonight. Ward was in complete control through the entire first round, landing at will. In the second round, Ward knocked Webster down 3 times, all with the
straight left before the ref called it off, improving his record to 11-1.

Written by: Ryan Gurewitz