Callum Simpson came of age in front of his adoring hometown crowd. The unbeaten super middleweight cruised to a unanimous decision over countryman Zak Chelli to win the British title. Scores were 118-111, 118-110 and 117-111 for Simpson in their Sky Sports/Peacock+ main event Saturday at Oakwell Football Ground in Barnsley, England. A more fitting […]
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Callum Simpson came of age in front of his adoring hometown crowd.
The unbeaten super middleweight cruised to a unanimous decision over countryman Zak Chelli to win the British title. Scores were 118-111, 118-110 and 117-111 for Simpson in their Sky Sports/Peacock+ main event Saturday at Oakwell Football Ground in Barnsley, England.
A more fitting backdrop could not have been provided to Simpson (15-0, 10 knockouts) for his first career title fight. The 27-year-old Barnsley native soaked in the ambiance from his raucous local fans and proceeded to get the job done in the ring.
“The main thing for me was to not let the occasion get to me,” Simpson told Sky Sports afterward. “The mantra was to fight the fight, not the occasion.”
Simpson jumped out to a strong start. London’s Chelli went to the lion’s den in a bid to make his first title defense. He was rocked by a right hand near the end of the opening round, which sent the crowd into a frenzy. Chelli managed to remain upright but was on the defensive until the bell.
It turned out to a missed opportunity for Simpson, who never came close to replicating the moment.
“I showed a little bit of inexperience,” confessed the ever-humble Simpson. “Alot of mistakes but a win’s a win. I hurt him in the first round and I could have pushed it a bit more.
“I let him off and made a lot mistakes. It was a learning fight. Every day is a school day.”
Chelli dusted himself off and worked behind the jab in the ensuing rounds. Simpson boxed well but was too selective with his punch output. It enabled Chelli to gain confidence in his plan to carry Simpson into the later rounds, though not impactful on the scorecards.
Simpson remained one step ahead, even as the fight ventured into unchartered territory. He went the ten-round distance in back-to-back fights in 2023 but never beyond that point. It changed on Saturday once the bell sounded to begin the eleventh round.
Chelli went all twelve rounds in a Jan. 20 British title win over Jack Cullen (22-6-1, 10 KOs) in Liverpool. That experience proved inconsequential as he failed miserably to change the course of the contest.
The setback snapped a modest two-fight win streak for Chelli.
Meanwhile, Simpson sets his sights on bigger game.
“I want to prove I’m the best in this division and want to clear it out domestically,” noted Simpson. “I don’t want to hear ‘Oh, he’s better than Callum.’ Once I clean it out domestically, then we’ll push on.”
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The post Callum Simpson Dominates Zak Chelli, Earns British Super Middleweight Title appeared first on The Ring.
