Callum Walsh shines in quick and loud 3Arena debut

20 Sep 2024, 21:15 by Gavan Casey · The42

Gavan Casey Reporting from the 3Arena

CALLUM WALSH LANDED in a headline slot at the 3Arena ahead of schedule and finished it in minutes.

The Cork light-middleweight stopped Poland’s Przemyslaw Runowski in the second round to improve his record to 12-0 (10KOs), maintaining his ascent through the 154-pound ranks towards mainstream stardom.

Walsh, the 23-year-old Cobh man who is trained by Freddie Roach and ostensibly promoted by UFC president Dana White, is still a fledgling professional but his face was on the poster as pro boxing returned to The Point for the third time in 16 months.

Only three boxers in the previous 15 years had headlined the same venue: Bernard Dunne (2009), Matthew Macklin (2014), and Katie Taylor (twice in 2023), and so Walsh was in exalted company as he strode to the ring.

His task, however, was more straightforward than those of his predecessors: he led the dance and tucked away Runowski with minimal fuss, a thudding left hand felling the away fighter.

The Pole protested the stoppage but it was perfectly legitimate. Clearly discombobulated, Runowski rose to his feet between the count of nine and 10 and left referee David Irvine with no other option but to wave off the contest.

Walsh’s picture-perfect finisher sent Runowski sprawling to the canvas in the second round, but the writing had been on the wall from first bell.

Walsh twice previously landed similar backhand shots with the kind of force that suggested this would be a quick night, even against an opponent whose durability was the main factor in his selection as an opponent.

Walsh’s body attack paved the way for the work upstairs which eventually saw Runowski planted on the canvas. The Pole gradually dropped his guard to protect his ribs and Walsh seized upon the open target upstairs.

Runowski frankly seemed overwhelemed by the raucious occasion as well as his more talented opponent as he absorbed a sequence of two- or three-shot barrages without being able to provide a meaningful response.

As Walsh raised his fist in celebration, the 4,500-odd supporters in attendance rained down upon the ring with plastic cups of beer — just as the Leesider had called for in an effort to recreate the atmosphere which greeted Dana White when Conor McGregor first fought under White’s UFC banner at the same venue in 2014.

Walsh, who is ranked top 10 in the world by both the WBC and the IBF, is still probably two years short of a world-title attempt but this was a performance, and an occasion, which pointed him decidedly forwards.

The 23-year-old southpaw emerged to the tune of ‘Celtic Symphony’ by the Wolfe Tones, an entrance song which landed Belfast’s Michael Conlan in hot water a few years back and has caused notable Irish sportspeople a bit of fuss since. Walsh is unlikely to apologise for his choice.

The six-time Irish underage champion knows how to make noise and Friday night became an indoor Electric Picnic: the integrity of the roof was being posed serious questions by the time the Cork man ducked into the ring.

Walsh knocked Runowski off balance early with a left hand and when the Pole protested that he wasn’t affected, Walsh extended the olive branch by way of a left glove, acknowledging that the boxers tangled legs during the exchange and Runowski wasn’t actually hurt.

The Cork man, though, wasn’t long landing shots that counted. Off the back of a vicious body attack, he punctuated his dominance of the first round with a left hook which tested Runowski’s whiskers and pushed the Polish boxer back towards the ropes.

Trainer Freddie Roach had implored fans not to blink when his star pupil took to the 3Arena rink but he also predicted a late finish. Walsh exceeded his coach’s expectations and closed the show in the second round.

Walsh caught Runowski on the button with a left hand and sent the 30-year-old to Funky Town. He nodded to the ecstatic crowd as he strutted to a neutral corner.

Runowski was clearly in bother and while he eventually regained his senses enough to climb back to his feet, it was too late. Walsh and his audience were already in raptures.

Runowski is no world-beater: he is instead a decent, European-level opponent whose big sell was that he had never before been stopped. He had lost only two of his 24 professional bouts, both to high-level British opposition on points. But Walsh made short work of what could have been a long night.

The choruses of ‘Olé Olé’ and ‘The Fields of Athenry’ that broke out during less than two rounds of action gave the bout a sense of being even bigger than it was — but Walsh’s talent may dictate that he returns to his native country from his adopted home of Los Angeles for more significant match-ups down the line.

On Walsh’s undercard, a thrilling Celtic super-middleweight title fight was won by Dublin’s Tokyo Olympian Emmett Brennan, but Kerry’s Kevin Cronin was disgusted by the judges’ scorecards which saw him beaten on a split decision.

Brennan acknowledged afterwards that it was a close fight but said it was “no robbery”.

It was a thrilling, phonebooth war between two of the most genial men in Irish boxing.

This writer scored their eight-round contest a draw, 76-76. Two of the judges who mattered, however, saw it 77-75 and 78-74 in Brennan’s favour, while another had it 77-75 for Cronin. The 78-74 card in Brennan’s favour was, simply put, too wide and the Kerry contingent at the 3Arena were quick to make that known.