Perhaps the best part of Callum Simpson’s career-best display was, after 12 competitive-but-clear rounds on home soil, outmanoevuring and outboxing Zak Chelli to win unified titles at 168lbs, came during his post-fight interview with the adrenaline pumping. He declared a desire to win the British title outright, called out unbeaten contender Mark Jeffers and it’s a refreshing sign of intent.
Simpson a clear winner in competitive Chelli clash
118-110, 118-111, 117-111: Callum Simpson bt. Zak Chelli to win British, Commonwealth super-middleweight titles and improve to 15-0 as a pro
WELL, if Zak Chelli didn’t know what he was in for on away soil, the now-former British champion quickly found out from the early part of round one. This quickly turned into a one-sided victory for the 27-year-old, understandably unsatisfied he couldn’t land the right shots for a knockout reel finish to decorate the cake he made.
The three-inch reach and height advantages were immediately apparent, Chelli couldn’t find his rhythm and wasn’t being allowed an opportunity to figure out different tactics on-the-fly as Simpson studiously used ringcraft to keep the Fulham resident honest, if not wary, of the power punches fizzing at close proximity.
Uppercuts were landing well, right hands too and the twitchy challenger’s post-fight comments made sense. Just like the setting was in south London two months prior, for Richard Riakporhe to ice Chris Billam-Smith – which quickly blew up in smoke – the stage was set for him to finish a lowkey night with a standout showing.
Chelli has never been dropped, let alone stopped, so it wasn’t going to be an easy task especially after the snake-bitten feeling across his face in the first-round alone, making him very wary of avoiding that sequence and being backed into a corner.
If Simpson is who he says he is, and on the basis of performances over the past two years, we’ve got reason to believe he’s on the right path. To maintain momentum on that trajectory, he must pass some tests – like going the 12-round distance, navigating different fighting styles – Chelli countered well but was second best.
7,500 spectators watched on but from multiple sources including the man himself, they could’ve sold double the alloted allocation and then some. Oakwell’s 23,287 capacity had never hosted a boxing event before though you’d be wise to expect this success prompts them to continue working alongside the combat sport in future.
After the first few rounds where Simpson came flying out of the blocks, there was a noticeable lull and he got tagged a bit too much during their exchanges. Nothing that warranted danger but he could’ve closed off the ring a bit more, nullified counters better or looked cleaner, giving Chelli half-chances that he shouldn’t have.
It’s all about learning and while many critics have said Chelli’s deficiencies mean his ceiling was British level, Simpson has the tools to go beyond. Given how unpredictable the 168lb division has proven on the world stage recently, that’s a welcome declaration, even if patience is key after a career-best showing here.
More analysis to follow shortly…
The result of the card’s results, were as follows
Caroline Dubois barely put a foot wrong and her left hook dropped Maira Moneo in round six en route to another successful ten-round championship defence (100-89, 100-90, 99-90) as the IBO world lightweight champion added WBC interim gold to her collection, making her mandatory for Katie Taylor’s 135lb strap that the Irish legend will likely vacate by the year’s end with an Amanda Serrano rematch the main focus.
Stephen McKenna vs. Joe Laws had thrills and spills during a three-round firefight as long as it lasted, though McKenna rose from the canvas to score a stoppage win over the underdog in a fast-burning slugfest, clinching the WBC International Silver light-middleweight title with the 27-year-old Irish contender improving to 15-0.
It was far from straightforward but Florida-based Irish hopeful Connor Coyle kept his unblemished record intact after an eight-round points win over Kyle Lomotey (77-75) at 160lbs – boxing in the UK for the first time since he turned pro eight years ago.
Portuguese middleweight prospect Mauro Silva wasted little time en route to a second-round stoppage victory (0:55, TKO) over durable journeyman Dale Arrowsmith, the latter’s corner throwing in the towel having seen enough.
Tunde Ajayi-trained light-welterweight Joel Kodua also stayed perfect, rising to 7-0 on his BOXXER debut with a UD6 victory (60-54) at John Henry Mosquera’s expense.
Aptly nicknamed the Turkish Tyson, Lancashire-born light-heavyweight hopeful Billy Deniz improved to 12-0 as a pro and scored a first-round knockdown en route to a six-round decision victory (59-54) over seasoned veteran Khalid Graidia.
In the night’s opener at women’s super-flyweight, Sylwia Doligala beat Sara Orszagi via R4 TD after Orszagi was cut above the left eye following an accidental head clash.
Picture source: Getty Images, quotes via Sky broadcast
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