Dauren Yeleussinov was expected to be the most difficult test in the young career of Callum Walsh, the unbeaten 23-year-old Irish super welterweight prospect. Walsh, though, handled the challenge brilliantly. The budding young Irish star took a big step forward Friday in front of a rowdy St. Patrick's Day weekend crowd at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York and stopped Yeleussinov in nine one-sided rounds.
Walsh was faster, stronger and more accurate than Yeleussinov, who tried to play rough with Walsh in a bid to throw him off of his game. Walsh displayed the poise and patience of a veteran and not only wasn't thrown off by Yeleussinov's antics, he delivered powerful body shots when Yeleussinov tried to grapple on the inside.
The end came at 1:56 of the ninth. Referee Eric Dali was looking for a reason to stop it because Yeleussinov had absorbed so many hard, clean shots throughout the bout. But Walsh delivered a wicked hook to the body that backed Yeleussinov into a corner that clearly hurt him. Walsh wasn't able to land a hard combination as Yeleussinov covered for dear life, but the first clean punch he connected with forced Dali to step in and halt it.
"I was just using my gas tank," Walsh said in the ring afterward. "I knew he was tired and I was just going to keep on the pressure."
Walsh struggled a bit in his last outing on Nov. 9 against Ismael Villarreal and was dropped in the 10th. It appeared he might have been pushed too quickly. But promoter Tom Loeffler nevertheless gave him another difficult assignment, but Walsh looked night and day different.
He was fast, efficient and in control.
"He was much sharper in camp, to begin with," Loeffler said by way of explaining Walsh's improvement. "[Yeleussinov] was an awkward guy who had so much amateur experience, and Callum did a nice job breaking him down with body shots and landing that right hook to the eye.
"I thought Callum was fast, but [Yeleussinov] was hard to land a combination on given how awkward he was. So Callum would land that right hook or go to the body and he looked impressive. You're always happy with a KO whether it's in the first, the second or the ninth."
Walsh entered the bout ranked 14 at super welterweight by the WBC, and figures to move up a spot or two, inching closer to the Top 10. Loeffler said he wants to keep pushing Walsh but doesn't want to rush him, so there's a delicate balance.
He's going to headline another card on June 7 at the Chumash Casino Resort in Santa Ynez, Calif., but Walsh didn't have a preference. He just wants to be active.
"I don't give a f*ck," Walsh yelled to the crowd after being asked who he wanted to fight next. "Give me more fights, give me more opponents and I'll get in there and I'll put on a show for the Irish people like I always do."