Irish Boxing Sensation Callum Walsh Is Ready to Prove His Starpower Potential

The 22-year-old is supported by Dana White and Freddie Roach, but he still has plenty of doubters. That may change with a win Thursday against Ismael Villarreal.

If you’re reading this, you have probably heard of Callum Walsh. He’s Freddie Roach–trained. Tom Loeffler–promoted. Backed by UFC czar Dana White. Few prospects have as much boxing muscle behind them as Walsh, who will headline—yes, headline—a card at the Theater at Madison Square Garden on Thursday.

But can Callum Walsh fight?

No one knows. Not really, anyway. Walsh has a good story. In February 2021, Walsh, then a standout Irish amateur, decided to spend a few weeks training in the U.S. His father, Ian, lived in Long Beach, so Los Angeles made sense. Because of the U.S.’s COVID-19 protocols, Walsh had to quarantine in Mexico for a few weeks. A couple of times he tried to get through Customs early. On the second try an agent rather sternly told him not to try again.

He went to Wild Card because, well, it’s Wild Card. Manny Pacquiao trained there. Miguel Cotto. Amir Khan. Roach’s gym is arguably the most famous one Stateside. Walsh had been once, when he was 15. He always wanted to go back. And Roach will work with anyone. When Walsh asked, Roach agreed. As long as he was willing to spar.

Nearly two years later Roach and Walsh are in New York, side by side in a 14th floor suite of the New Yorker hotel. On a couch next to them is Loeffler. Shortly after Walsh started working with Roach, Ian contacted Loeffler. Loeffler, best known for steering Gennadiy Golovkin’s career for nearly a decade, regularly put on club shows in the L.A. area. Ian wanted Loeffler to give Walsh a look.

Walsh carries an 8–0 (7 KOs) professional record into Thursday’s 10-round junior middleweight matchup against Villarreal / 360 Promotions

In December, 10 months after Walsh wandered into Wild Card, Loeffler put him on. Walsh scored a first-round knockout. Three months later he picked up another. Two months later, another. Loeffler was sold. In Walsh, Loeffler saw the same desire to entertain that he once saw in Golovkin.

“Fans come to see knockouts,” says Loeffler. “When they saw Triple G, they didn’t leave disappointed. It’s the same thing with Callum. He really feels like he can beat anyone that we put him in the ring against.”

Around that same time, Loeffler scheduled a meeting with White. White was airing boxing on UFC Fight Pass. Loeffler brought Walsh with him. White was impressed. Walsh, a UFC fan growing up, was dazzled. Loeffler sold White on building Walsh on Fight Pass, similar to how Golovkin was built on HBO.

“Dana has always wanted to get into boxing, and he’s had various promoters on UFC Fight Pass, but there was no strategy behind building a fighter,” says Loeffler. “Lou DiBella had some dates. Dmitry Salita had some dates. I think Jimmy Burchfield had dates. But it was always like a mishmash of, ‘O.K., we’re going to put on various people.’”

White agreed. Walsh fought four times on Fight Pass in 2022. He has fought three times on the streaming service this year. Of his eight pro wins, seven have come by knockout. Highlights of Walsh’s wins have filtered through social media. White, with tens of millions of followers across various social media channels, has pushed them. On Thursday, a crowd of around 3,000 is expected to watch Walsh face Ismael Villarreal in a 10-round junior middleweight fight.

Any fighter would embrace the backing Walsh has received. But is he worth it? Roach thinks so. Decades earlier, Pacquiao popped into Roach’s gym. The result was one of the most successful fighter/trainer pairings in boxing history. Roach isn’t making that comparison yet. But he sees something in Walsh. Roach remembers that first sparring session. “He had good speed with his hands and he could put combinations together really, really well,” says Roach. And he knows what he’s seen in the gym since then.

“This guy can fight,” says Roach. “I would put him in with my best guys and he’s beating the s--- out them. It was fun to watch. It was really fun.”

Says Walsh, “I feel like my amateur experience and Freddie’s experience, with the pro style, I just think it’s a good combination. I can use my amateur style if I have to and I’m learning a lot from Freddie with the pro style. Being able to mix the two styles together is a good combination.”

Fighters often wait years to get the backing and exposure Walsh gets. Golovkin was already a world champion before he ever appeared on HBO. It’s led some in boxing to wonder whether Walsh, 22, is more style than substance. Said one rival promoter, “I know 10 guys who could be doing exactly what he’s doing.”

Loeffler disagrees. He points to the accelerated pace Walsh is on. He fought a scheduled six-rounder in his third pro fight. He was fighting 10-rounders by his sixth. In June, Walsh stopped Carson Jones, a veteran who had faced Antonio Margarito and Kell Brook. In August he knocked out Juan Jose Velasco, whose résumé includes a loss to Regis Prograis.

Velasco (left) lasted four rounds against Walsh in August before his team threw in the towel / 360 Promotions

Walsh doesn’t believe he’s been given anything. Boxing is his life. His father took him to the gym when he was 6. He has 120 amateur fights. He intended to stay in the U.S. for only a few weeks. But because he was on a holiday visa, if he left it would have been difficult to return. Instead, he overstayed his visa so he could continue his training, leaving friends and family in Cork, Ireland, to wonder when he would return.

“They have never turned down an opponent,” says Loeffler. “Now we’ll never propose an opponent that we figure is one step too big, but they’ve never said, ‘We don’t want to fight a southpaw. We don’t fight a guy because he is too tall or too short or whatever.’ Callum will fight anyone.”

That includes Villarreal. Villarreal (13–1) is a legitimate test. He has been featured on ShoBox. His lone defeat was a split-decision loss to Ardreal Holmes, a slick, undefeated southpaw. Walsh will have his share of Irish fans in the Theater on Thursday. But Villarreal, a Bronx-born, former Golden Glove winner will, too.

“I love all the publicity and media attention this fight has gotten,” Villareal said. “I’m clearly the underdog in the minds of many. I can box and I can brawl and I’m prepared for both.”

Walsh, too. There’s a lot at stake. Loeffler has 10 dates on Fight Pass in 2024. Walsh says—kidding, we think—that he wants to fight in all of them. MSG officials have discussed bringing Walsh back twice next year. Loeffler wants to build toward a showdown with Xander Zayas, an unbeaten junior middleweight prospect with a growing New York following.

“Puerto Rico versus Ireland,” says Loeffler, smiling. “I think that would be a great promotion at the big arena maybe in a year or two.”

Indeed. First up, Villarreal, who has more knockouts (nine) than Walsh has fights. Walsh has made believers out of some big shots in boxing. On Thursday, he will attempt to make a few more.