FREDDIE ROACH LAST visited Ireland 31 years ago.
Long before he could pull up a seat in boxing’s Hall of Fame, the great American trainer was pulling up a stool for Steve Collins in Millstreet, Co. Cork.
Callum Walsh wasn’t yet born when Collins relieved Chris Eubank of his super-middleweight world title but the UFC-backed ‘King’ is sufficiently talented that he has dragged Roach back to The Motherland.
In an inversion of events from 1995, a Cork boxer will tonight headline in Dublin. Walsh (11-0, 9KOs), who trains out of Roach’s Wild Card gym in Hollywood, faces Poland’s never-been-stopped Przemyslaw Runowski (22-2-1, 6KOs) at the 3Arena in a bid to rubber-stamp his credentials as one of boxing’s legitimate up-and-comers.
But Roach still managed to get a taste of Cork earlier in the week when he visited Walsh’s old amateur gym, Riverside Boxing Club in Glanmire, and took a session with the children who will seek to emulate his charge one day.
“One of them, I slapped in the face because he dropped his hands”, laughs Roach, “so he kicked me!”
Roach is well accustomed to that Rebel spirit from having worked with Walsh over the last three years, of course.
The Cobh native, a talented amateur through the age grades, upped sticks to Los Angeles during the pandemic and literally knocked on the door of Roach’s gym to ask the all-time great coach if he could train there.
It was a Wednesday, which meant it was sparring day at the Wild Card. Roach nodded in the direction of the ring and Walsh looked after the rest. He’s been there ever since, signing a promotional deal with Tom Loeffler (the man who brought Gennady Golovkin and the Klitschko brothers to the masses) and earning unofficial backing from UFC president Dana White, who took a shine to the boxer and is even footing the bill for tonight’s expensive homecoming show.
It’s an unlikely story and yet there is no great mystery to the buzz that Walsh has generated: the kid has simply got something.
“He’s a good fighter and he’s on his way already,” Roach says of his star pupil. “He’s a very, very good prospect. He works hard and his punching ability is unbelievable.
“I’ve seen him hit guys in the gym and knock them out off either hand. I’m not saying it happens too often — but not everybody in the world can do that. It’s rare.
“I don’t think anyone should blink their eyes. You don’t wanna miss this guy right now. He’s getting there and I see him being a champion in the near future.”
Roach must continue to nurture that rare talent in Walsh for the 23-year-old is well ahead of schedule for a boxer with just 11 pro bouts on his CV.
Walsh is already world-ranked by the WBC. He makes more money and garners more attention than the vast majority of boxers boasting a similar level of experience. He has hundreds of thousands of followers on social media and his girlfriend, the UFC’s femme fatale Tabatha ‘Baby Shark’ Ricci is even more famous than he is.
Even Walsh’s homecoming bill tonight makes him something of an outlier in his sport in this country. Only three Irish boxers in the last 15 years have headlined shows at the 3Arena: WBA beltholder Bernard Dunne (27-1, 15KOs) in 2009, world-title-chasing Matthew Macklin (31-5, 20KOs) in 2014, and undisputed title challenger Katie Taylor (22-0/22-1, 6KOs) twice last year.
Walsh, still probably a couple of years shy of challenging for world honours, will become the fourth in only his 12th fight.
But there’ll be no silk pyjamas on Roach’s watch.
Humility is important but I don’t think he needs to be humble about it. I think he needs to be hard about it. I’m going to make him work his ass off.
“But he has that drive. That’s inside of him. He’s not someone who wants to go out there and look okay. He’s the kind of guy who wants to go out there and look great.
“And if he wants opportunities like these, he can’t just go in there and win by decision. He’s gotta knock these guys out.
“I know we’ve a decent opponent”, Roach says of Runowski, who has never been stopped, “but he’s not the greatest guy in the world.
“He’s going to show that my guy might be the greatest in the world. Callum’s going to outbox him, out-punch him, and I do think he’ll end up knocking him out, maybe right at the end. I know that’s a brave comment but he does have that power.”
Walsh’s bout with Runowski will be broadcast live on TNT Sports tonight and features an undercard with several intriguing match-ups.
Dublin’s Tokyo Olympian Emmett Brennan (3-0, 1KO) returns to the 3Arena ring for a domestic dust-up with Kerry’s ‘Kingdom Warrior’ Kevin Cronin (8-1-1, 4KOs), the winner of which will take home the Celtic super-middleweight title.
Another all-Irish Celtic title clash at light-middle sees hometown fighter Craig O’Brien (14-3, 2KOs) square off with Limerick’s Edward Donovan (7-0, 1KO), the older brother of the Andy Lee-trained welterweight Paddy Donovan.
In the chief support bout, Dublin heavyweight Thomas Carty (8-0, 7KOs) will seek to keep the Carty Party going against a repacement opponent from Argentina, Jonathan Exequiel Vergara (6-1, 3KOS).
Heavy-handed welterweight Gareth Dowling, also of Dublin, will make his professional debut against Daniel Nowak (0-4), while Tipperary’s former amateur standout Shauna O’Keeffe (2-0, 1KO) will look to continue her ascent through the lightweight ranks when she faces Icelandic opponent Valgerdur Gudsteinsdottir (7-5, 2KOS).
Kicking off the evening will be an exhibition amateur bout between Meath woman Ella Thompson — who was once surprised by Katie Taylor on the Late Late Toy Show — and Dublin’s Abbey Molloy.
Remaining tickets are available on Ticketmaster.
