At The Theater at Madison Square Garden, 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.
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, with Walsh slowing his own pace in the final few rounds of the bout. Walsh was guided in the corner by Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach.
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 - but some observers at ringside felt the fight was closer.
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.”
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