Super middleweight prospect Callum Walsh returns home to defend his WBC Continental Americas title against Przemyslaw Runowski at the 3Arena in Dublin on Friday, Sept. 20 (9:30 a.m. PT, UFC Fight Pass).
“When you see the Irish fans, you can tell they are very passionate and supportive of their country, so you can imagine what it must be like at home,” Walsh told the LA Times in Spanish. “A lot of them can’t travel to other places, especially Los Angeles or other places, it would be crazy to live there after four years.”
Walsh is trained by Freddie Roach and has strong support from UFC President Dana White, with whom he has a special relationship, and the 23-year-old is in a relationship with fellow MMA fighter Tabatha Ricci.
Reports suggest the story of Walsh’s start in international boxing was apparently as simple as going to a Wild Card Boxing gym and asking Roach for a chance, but he denied it was just that.
“A lot of people look at what I’ve done and they don’t see the hard work, they see the wins, they see me with Dana White, but they don’t see what was really behind it all to make it possible,” Walsh said. “It was tough. I had to do 140 amateur fights in Ireland, I won six national championships, I won European titles, I tried to qualify for the Olympics at 18, but unfortunately in the qualifying round I lost the final.” “That’s when I decided to come here,” he recalled. “It was a big risk, but if you don’t take the risk, you don’t know what could happen. The worst thing for me, if I wasn’t working out, was coming home… Everything happens for a reason and I’m here because of what I’ve been through.”
Despite all the good things he’s doing in boxing, Walsh’s passion for mixed martial arts is clearly recognized, to the point that he’s taking the opportunity to eventually train with the UFC very seriously.
His relationship with Richie also makes the process easier, but he has his boxing goals first.
Walsh admitted that being married to someone who is a professional contact sports player makes it easier for her to develop a lasting relationship.
There are days when his motivation isn’t at 100%, so when he sees his partner get up to run, he encourages him to join him and says he enjoys that kind of support.
“It’s easier than if I was with a normal person, because Tabitha understands my profession, she understands what I do and I understand what needs to be done. If I’m working out, she doesn’t say, ‘Oh, I want us to do something, I want to go out to eat,’ because she knows I have to do it. I don’t really have to explain it to him and he doesn’t have to explain it to me.”
Richie is the one who does most of the cooking at home and says he enjoys the variety of food that Brazil has to offer. He had the opportunity to visit Brazil during the Christmas season and although he doesn’t remember the name of what he tried, he enjoyed the company of his partner’s family and the experience.
Walsh tried to influence him to learn about Irish cuisine.
“I really liked what I ate there, and I tried to get my grandmother to give her a recipe using the ingredients they send us from there,” Walsh said. “She learns how to make different dishes, like ‘Shepherd’s Pie.’”
Regarding his passion for mixed martial arts, Wales said that from a very young age he saw his compatriot Conor McGregor succeed.
“I followed him from a very young age and well, his whole career was followed all over the country. We stayed up late to watch him fight in the UFC,” Walsh recalled. “I’ve been boxing my whole career but I got interested in mixed martial arts. I just knew going to the gym and boxing, I was a fan of the sport anyway, but with MMA it was watching McGregor and watching him steal the show.”
Regarding his unusual relationship with White, Walsh said he met him through Tom Loffer after signing the contract. Walsh attended one of Loeffler’s nights, and during that time the promoter and White worked together on UFC Fight Pass. Additionally, Loeffler had another Irish fighter on board.
“He introduced me to him because he knew Dana had a lot of history with Irish fighters, so he just asked me to introduce him to him. As soon as we started talking, he opened the door to a good relationship and ended up sponsoring me.”
Walsh wants to win world titles before he thinks about making a crossover into mixed martial arts, and right now, he says, that’s his priority.
