Callum Walsh is aware of what it means to earn a residing along with his palms. Earlier than throwing hooks and jabs within the ring, he spent his days lifting cargo on fishing boats within the port of Cobh, underneath the chilly Atlantic wind in his native Eire.
He was solely 16, however he already understood laborious work. At present, at 24, he continues to work simply as laborious, though his stage has modified — now he does it underneath the brilliant lights of a boxing ring.
On Saturday at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Walsh (14-0, 11 KOs) can have the evening he at all times dreamed of.
He’ll struggle on the co-main occasion of a card headlined by Saúl “Canelo” Álvarez and Terence Crawford, an enormous platform for his younger profession, and it is going to be broadcast on Netflix, the place he’ll danger his undefeated file in a 10-round tremendous welterweight bout in opposition to one other hungry teen, Fernando Vargas Jr. (17-0, 15 KOs), inheritor to the surname of a former world champion.
Eire’s Callum Walsh punches Scotland’s Dean Sutherland throughout a brilliant welterweight boxing match on March 16 in New York.
(Frank Franklin II / Related Press)
Removed from attempting to overlook his days on the docks, Walsh is grateful for them.
“Training is tough, yes, but I enjoy it. It’s much better than getting up at dawn to go to the port,” Walsh mentioned with a smile.
The work ethic he displayed as a loader on fishing boats additionally helped set up Walsh as one of the vital promising prospects in world boxing.
The Irish southpaw has fought thrice at Madison Sq. Backyard and crammed Dublin’s 3Arena final 12 months. His aggressive and quick type units him aside, with a quantity of punches that hardly ever diminishes and a braveness that leads him to trade blows with out backing down.
“I’ll be opening up to a much wider fan base. There will be a lot of people watching the fight,” mentioned Walsh, who desires folks to be happy with the competition, not like the final Netflix present by which Jake Paul disillusioned tens of millions of viewers by having a really restricted opponent, 58-year-old Mike Tyson.
“I want to show them what real boxing is all about. There will be a lot of people watching for the first time, and I want them to become fans,” mentioned Walsh, an admirer of his compatriot, Conor McGregor, a UFC star.
Walsh is coaching at Wild Card Health club in Los Angeles underneath the watchful eye of Freddie Roach. There, the Irishman is combining his stable beginner basis of greater than 150 fights with the legendary coach’s offensive type.
“I couldn’t have chosen a better teacher,” Walsh mentioned.
On the opposite aspect of the ring, Walsh will face Vargas, a southpaw with a robust punch who made his debut in 2020 however already boasts 17 victories — 15 of them by knockout. Nevertheless, the percentages in Las Vegas favor the Irishman.
“I don’t care about Las Vegas. Las Vegas loses all the time,” Vargas Jr. mentioned on “The PorterWay Podcast” when requested about not being favored.
Undefeated junior middleweight boxers Callum Walsh, left, and Fernando Vargas Jr., proper, face off whereas UFC’s Dana White seems to be on throughout a information convention at T-Cellular Enviornment on Thursday.
(Steve Marcus / Getty Pictures)
The struggle won’t solely be a duel between undefeated fighters. It’ll even be an enormous showcase. The highly effective boxing promoter and organizer of the Canelo vs. Crawford struggle, Turki Al-Sheikh, shall be watching Walsh carefully, as will UFC president Dana White, who has shared a rising curiosity in boxing.
“The lights can’t shine any brighter than that night,” warned Tom Loeffler, Walsh’s promoter.
However Walsh says he doesn’t really feel any stress. Not from the stage, nor from defending his good file.
“Everyone can lose at some point. The important thing is to face real fights and give the public what they want,” Walsh mentioned. At 24, he is aware of he nonetheless has a protracted option to go.
The story of the younger man who left the boats for the ring can have a brand new chapter this Saturday in Las Vegas. It will likely be as much as his fists to impress the world and ensure that he’s now not a prospect, however a actuality.
This text first appeared in Spanish through L.A. Occasions en Español.
