Ringside Report: Callum Simpson Overcomes Two Knockdowns To Win The European Super-Middleweight Title

Ringside Report: Callum Simpson Overcomes Two Knockdowns To Win The European Super-Middleweight Title

Callum Simpson sent his incredibly vocal supporters home happy on Saturday night at his beloved Oakwell. But Simpson had to overcome two knockdowns himself before being crowned the European super-middleweight champion in a wildly exciting fight.

Ivan Zucco, the previously unbeaten southpaw, gave the hometown hero everything he could handle on Saturday night. Zucco made Simpson taste the canvas inside the first ten seconds, and all that passionate noise that welcomed the British and Commonwealth champion to the ring evaporated almost as soon as Simpson touched the canvas. The mood changed instantly. The party stopped. Everyone realised this was now a proper fight, and the smell of an upset was very much in the air.

But Simpson, fighting with emotion, probably too much of it, fought back, and it seemed like normal service was quickly resumed, and the desired script was now being followed. But after regaining control, and looking as though he was fully in command, another left hand from that tricky southpaw stance put Simpson down again in the third round. It was right on the bell. Simpson looked hurt, and the bell was more than welcomed. The first knockdown was more of the flash variety. The second looked a little more serious.

Zucco was already well up on the cards, and Simpson only levelled the scoring after eight rounds on my card. I thought from ringside that Simpson was crowding his work too much and making the fight far harder than it needed to be. When he used his length, the task at hand looked far more comfortable for Simpson. That left hand of Zucco was the danger punch, and even though Simpson was on the ascendancy, the threat was constant. The Barnsley fighter was a little reckless at times, and you always thought that he was one lapse in concentration away from disaster.

But for the first time in the fight, I had Simpson in front after nine absorbing rounds. Zucco was fading, but the outcome of the fight was still far from certain. But Simpson removed all lingering doubt in the following round. The uppercut was the key to the comeback victory. Simpson had Zucco over three times in that pivotal tenth round. Repeated uppercuts did enough damage to knock all the fight out of the brave Italian who proved far tougher than anyone reasonably expected. Or wanted. The silence of those opening few seconds gave way to euphoria as Callum Simpson capped off a quite remarkable comeback.

Win number eighteen was hard earned, and Simpson would have learned plenty about himself on Saturday night. There will be obvious and deserved questions about his defence and the strength of his chin, and at times, Simpson looked like a raw fighter who still has some degree of learning to do. But a lesser fighter would have folded after that nightmare start. Simpson deserves immense credit for what he served up, as does Ivan Zucco. There are flaws to fix. But at 28, he has time to fix them. Hopefully, in time, this will be the night that will be the making of him.

Photo Credit: Lawrence Lustig/Boxxer