Callum Simpson halted Steed Woodall to defend his British and Commonwealth super-middleweight titles on an emotional night in Sheffield.
Simpson was boxing for the first time since the death of his sister, who passed away tragically young at the age of 19.
The name of Lily-Rae Simpson was emblazoned on his shorts and robe when he arrived to make his entrance at the Canon Medical Arena.
Thousands of his supporters had gathered round to roar the Barnsley man into the ring with deafening cheers that reached an even louder crescendo when Simpson forced the finish.
At the first bell Woodall was unfazed by the boos that welcomed him and he tagged Simpson with arching right crosses in the first round, the kind of sharp punching that showed how dangerous he could be.
Woodall wanted to fight on
The Birmingham challenger found accurate shots in the early going of the opening round.
But when Simpson put a combination together, he generated a great cheer.
He fired his right through and slammed a stiff straight left in after it. He sank left hooks into Woodall’s body, angling them in viciously.
Directing Woodall to the ropes, he rattled his head with a cluster of shots. Simpson clocked him again with his cross and pressed Woodall further in the second round.
He trapped Woodall on the ropes and a searing combination saw him batter the challenger to the canvas. He mingled right uppercuts into a sequence of blows, a finishing left hook-right hook blast putting the Birmingham man over.
Simpson continued to tear into Woodall, although the challenger was bravely looking to fight back. He wanted to continue but the referee intervened to end it at 1:56 of the second round.
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Callum Simpson opens up about the tragic loss of his 19-year-old sister, who died while on holiday just weeks after he had won his last fight at Oakwell
His sister was immediately in his thoughts when his victory was announced.
“I’m feeling bittersweet,” he told Sky Sports. “I’ve won these titles in front of all my fans but there’s one person who everyone knows I wish was here, but I know she’s looking down on me and I know I’m making her proud.
“I brought my other brothers and sisters, mum, dad and stepmum into the ring just to show that she’s not here, but she’s here in spirit. I’ve still got a lot to be grateful for.”
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Simpson dedicated his win to his sister, who tragically passed away at age 19
Was it stopped too soon?
Simpson himself didn’t consider the stoppage premature. “If he didn’t stop it then, we were going to stop it another half a second later,” the champion said.
“For me it should have been stopped. At least Steed is alright and healthy.
“I knocked him down. He was still on unsteady legs. Anyone who knows me knows he would have gone down again.
“The referee did his job and kept him safe. Obviously Steed’s going to argue, but that’s a legit stoppage.
“It was only going one way.”
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The referee jumped in controversially in the second round, giving Callum Simpson the TKO win over Steed Woodall
Sky Sports’ expert Matthew Macklin did consider it too soon. “He wasn’t out on his feet,” Macklin said.
“Even if he was going to go on and stop him, that wasn’t the right time to stop it.
“I think Callum Simpson was going to go on and win the fight, probably by stoppage, but it shouldn’t have been stopped when it was.”
The result, of course, stands and now Simpson will want another stadium fight.
“What’s next? I’ve just had a quick chat with [Barnsley CEO] John Flatman and he’s given permission to mess up the pitch in the summer,” he said.
“Oakwell, we’re coming for you again!”
