Everyone around Callum Walsh, the bruising super-welterweight based in Los Angeles, is expecting him to compete in a boxing world championship match in the next 12-18 months.
The 23-year-old Irishman has been a pro since 2021 and, in the years since, has built a 10-0-0 (8 KOs) record, with his promoter Tom Loeffler at 360 Promotions taking him from small halls in California to bigger casinos in that region, to Boston, and to the Madison Square Garden Theater in New York City.
Walsh is a fighter and a bruiser, and looks significantly bulkier than other fighters in the 154-pound division. To date, that mass has helped him score brutal knockouts in the majority of his fights.
His last two bouts were real learning experiences, according to both Walsh and Loeffler, and as he returns to the ring June 7 against Carlos Ortiz at the Chumash Casino in Santa Ynez, California, they told World Boxing News of their ambition to secure a world title shot before the end of next year.
“Definitely I can get a title shot in the next 10 fights,” Walsh told World Boxing News this week.
“His career path is exciting,” Loeffler told World Boxing News in a separate interview.
Even UFC boss Dana White, who has an interest in Walsh and will, per Loeffler, be ringside for the June 7 card on California’s central coast, told us last year that he’s excited about the fighter, and expects him to compete in, and win, a world title bout next year.
“A year, or a year and a half is good timing for him [to challenge for his first world title],” said Loeffler.
“You know the type of work he gets, and the sparring that he gets, down there at the Wildcard Boxing Club is second to none with all the world-class fighters that Freddie has down there is pretty impressive.”
He continued: “Anywhere between 15 and 20 fights sounds about right to me [for a title shot]. But it really just depends on these fights, continuing to learn, and how he looks.”
First, Walsh must win the 11th fight of his career against Ortiz in June, and it’s another test he hopes to pass having fought, and won, two potential banana skins in his last bouts.
“There was a lot to take away” from the fights against Ismael Villarreal, and Dauren Yeleussinov, Walsh told us.
The Villarreal victory was hard-fought, as Walsh even passed blood in his urine. “There was a really small amount in the urine test after the fight,” he said. “I don’t know where that was from … it was there for one or two minutes, then it was gone. But it didn’t cause any issue.”
Despite the grueling nature of the win, Walsh believes he thoroughly deserved the decision. “It was a good fight. He was young, and up-and-coming, too, so he didn’t want to lose. So I feel like it was a fight most people at this stage in their careers don’t actually take. It was a good fight for both of us.”
Loeffler agreed. “Fighting Villarreal was a great learning fight as he had solid amateur fighting experience, and it was in his backyard in New York City. He came to win, and they were confident when they took the fight on.
“I think the fight against Dauren Yeleussinov was also a learning experience as he had such an awkward style. But Dauren said he’s never been hit that hard.
“So those two fights came at the right time and, you know, I have bigger plans for Callum but I sometimes forget he’s only 23 years old.
“I was looking at his world ratings and sometimes have to step back and say I really need to get Callum a little bit more experience, but whenever I’ve proposed certain opponents for coach Freddie Roach, he’s never turned any of them down, and knows he’s ready, and believes in Callum’s skills.”
Roach isn’t the only big believer in Walsh’s skills as he’s already attracting high-profile sports executives like Triple-H and Nick Khan, as well as celebrities like Halle Berry, to his bouts.
“I’ve known Nick Khan for a long time as he’s an LA guy. I have known these guys [WWE execs] for a while, and we brought Callum to WWE Monday Night Raw. Triple-H remembered him from the MSG show.”
Walsh then told us that he’d love to make a cameo in the WWE, following in the footsteps of crossover boxers Tyson Fury and Floyd Mayweather.
“I met a lot of people at the WWE show, and after seeing what it’s all about, the atmosphere, and the crowd, it’s definitely something I’d be interested in doing in the future,” Walsh said.
It’s not out of the realm of possibility as WWE is under the same banner at TKO as UFC, which is a promotion that has gotten behind Walsh as UFC Fight Pass airs 360 Promotions events, and White is seen ringside at some of Walsh’s shows.
“Dana is very happy with Walsh, and the matchmaking so far. That’s the promise I made [when signing the deal to air 360 Promotions shows on UFC Fight Pass],” Loeffler said. “We’re going to be putting on competitive fights because that’s what UFC fans are used to, and what Dana naturally strives for.
“Regardless of whether it’s the first UFC fight of the night, or the main event, it’s always competitive — which you don’t always see in boxing, or rarely even see, especially on the undercard.
“But on our shows, we definitely strive to live up to Dana’s expectations. If he’s going to put his stamp of approval on our series, and help build the fighters on the UFC platform, on social, his personal support, then we have to deliver on the fights.
“If somebody takes a tough loss on our series,” said Loeffler, “there’s no reason why they shouldn’t come back and be able to fight, just like you see in the UFC. That’s what I want to see in boxing — to go back to when people were considered legendary fighters, in an era when they’re in tough fights all the time and losses didn’t matter as much.”
Alan Dawson is World Boxing News Lead Writer, a 2 x Sports Journalist of the Year finalist, and 5 x BWAA awards winner. Follow Alan @AlanDawsonSport.
