10 November 2023 , 13:36
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Callum Walsh was forced to climb off the canvas as he survived a scare against Ismael Villarreal.
Watched by former heavyweight world champion Larry Holmes, WWE legend Triple H and UFC president Dana White, the highly-touted Irishman sold out the Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York. But his thus-far seamless progress in the professional ranks threatened to come undone at several points as Villarreal provided a stern test of the Cork man's potential before ultimately succumbing on points.
Walsh controlled the opening round, causing Villarreal trouble with his fast hand speed. And those hands had the once-beaten Villarreal in trouble in the second session as he began to wilt under pressure from the Irishman. Walsh was content to box on the back foot in the third round but began to let through the odd right hand as the seconds ticked by and Villarreal, by now growing in confidence, had his unbeaten rival in trouble when the bell sounded.
Walsh was being drawn into a firefight but wobbled Villarreal with a right hand in the fourth before a more evenly-matched fifth. Villarreal found a route through Walsh's defence in the sixth session to give himself every chance with four to go before another pick-em in the seventh. Walsh edged a scrappier eighth round although Villarreal again finished strongly as the bell rang.
The pace had slowed considerably by the ninth before Villarreal sensed Walsh was weakening and pushed forward only for the Irishman to respond well in the final minute.
But it was Villarreal who landed the first and only knockdown in the final round as Walsh buckled under the New Yorker's pressure. And the unbeaten prospect was forced to cling on until the final bell before being rescued by the officials who scored the bout 97-92, 97-92 and 96-93.
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On the undercard, Ireland's Feargal McCrory laboured to victory over Nikolai Buzolin to keep his unbeaten record intact before Omar Trinidad stopped Andrew Bentley in the first round. Brian Ceballo dropped and stopped Kenneth McNeil in the fourth round while Freddie Roach-trained Gor Yeritsyan was taken the distance for only the third time in his 17-fight career before being given the nod by the judges.
Umar Dzambekov was taken to points by Frederic Julan but remains unbeaten, while in the co-main event, Cain Sandoval dropped home favourite Wesley Ferrer in the opening session before piling on the pressure for another four before the referee stepped in to ensure Sandoval extended his 100 per cent stoppage record.