Freddie Roach lands in Ireland and claims Callum Walsh will be a superstar

The 23-year-old headlines the UFC Fight Pass series of bouts in Dublin’s 3 arena tomorrow night, when he takes on Polish fighter Przemysław Runowski as the Irishman defends his WBC Continental Americas Super Welterweight title.

“He (Walsh) will be a superstar, without fail,” Roach (64) tells Sundayworld.com.

“He is very dedicated. He has good combinations, punches very well. He’s all there.”

Roach has trained 40 World Champions, including Manny Pacquiao and Oscar De La Hoya.

The former professional boxer has also trained Hollywood stars, including the likes of Mickey Rourke and Mark Wahlberg, for roles in movies.

The L.A. based great is making his second trip ever to Ireland this week, to take in his protégé Walsh’s fight.

The last time he was here was for Steve Collins’ famous victory against Chris Eubank in Millstreet, Co Cork in 1995.

“That was an experience,” he chuckles. “I went into the ring with the belt with me and a guy said, ‘hey kid get out of here’. I said, ‘I’m part of the show’, he said ‘yeah sure, you’re a little kid!’. I finally got in the corner, it ended up OK!”

Southpaw Walsh, who has not been beaten in 11 fights, is all geared up for tomorrow’s showdown.

“I’m 23 years old, I’m going to headline the 3 Arena,” beams Walsh, whose nickname is ‘The King’. “It’s something for me that I’ll remember for the rest of my life, and everybody that sees it too will remember I was so young.

"All my friends, family, will remember it. It doesn’t matter how much you pay for a ticket; they’re going to remember it.”

Callum missed out on going to the Tokyo Olympics by a whisker, losing to eventual bronze medallist Aidan Walsh. The development led to his focusing on a move to America.

“Initially my plan was to go over to Wildcat (gym) to Freddie and just train, I was still an amateur and I going to train and I was going to come back in and try and qualify for the Olympics again,” he explains. “When I was over there, I was training with Freddie, I was doing well, I was sparring with top level pros and I decided ‘I might as well just turn pro while I’m here’. It worked out for the best.

“I had to spar with him on my first day I was there, and he let me come back the next day. That’s what I’ve been doing ever since (laughs), until he tells me I can’t come back”.

He has been unbeaten since he’s turned pro. “I have had a lot of fights, 11 fights, in L.A., Boston, New York. I was getting closer to the Irish crowd. I was getting hungry to come back and fight (in Ireland), because we were getting a taste in New York for the Irish crowd and now finally coming back, and being able to put a show of this size,” he notes.

He has made a life for himself now, living in Los Angeles.

“It was hard enough at the start,” he admits. “ I’ve been there three years now. I have a girlfriend out there, we live together, dogs as well. We have a whole life out there, so it’s different than me being there by myself training, I have a life there so it’s a lot easier.”

Callum originally hails from Cobh, where he boxed from a young age and also became a keen fan of MMA.

“I got into watching the UFC because I’m a fan of McGregor, ever since I was 11 years old when he was fighting,” he recalls. “It’s weird, because boxing I got into from just be put and thrown into a gym. That was my life, all I knew.

“I got into MMA from watching it. You’d have a passion for the sport from getting into it like that. Boxing was just what I knew.

"Me and my friends, we used to watch UFC every single weekend, so I always had a passion from that. I always had an interest from watching it, that’s what’s different about boxing. Boxing was my life, it was what I knew, so I didn’t have that drive forward (to try MMA).

“When I came to America, I trained with a few UFC fighters, and my girlfriend is a UFC fighter.

“But I’m still very young. I’m 23, so I mix around, I like it, so who knows, maybe someday in the future after I win the boxing world title…”.

Callum has become friends with UFC boss Dana White, thanks to appearances on cards promoted by the organisation. He also bizarrely has a claim to fame, as Mark Zuckerberg’s wife got to rub vaseline on him in the presence of the Facebook owner!

“We should expand on that, the ‘incident with Mark Zuckerberg’s wife and the vaseline’!” he chortles when asked about it.

“She put it on my face before the fight, because she always wanted to (do it to a fighter). “It was weird. I was waiting to go to the bathroom at the UFC. It was in the back; they had been talking to a cut man that was there.

“She was asking about how to put the Vaseline on the face before a fight. She was like ‘oh I’d love to see how it’s done’ or ‘I’d love to do it’ or whatever, and I think the cut man said to me ‘you come here, this is how it’s done, could we use you for a second’. Then she did it.

“I didn’t expect it at all. The fact he (Zuckerberg) knew who I was, and he loves watching my fights. It was crazy. But he is into the fights, he goes to a lot of the UFCs too. He knows Dana, that’s how he’d know me.”

He’s not phased that the likes of White or Zuckerberg are sitting in the front rows watching him fight, when he wears the Irish colours and also blesses himself before each bout.

“It’s good when he (White) comes to the shows,” he confirms. “To be honest, like when I’m in the ring fighting, it doesn’t matter who’s in the crowd, I have one job to do and its win the fight. It doesn’t matter who’s sitting there, at the end of the day it’s like I have to do my job. I’ll enjoy it, once I get my win. Once I get the win, I’ll be able to enjoy the win after, but I’m very focussed on the night.

“At the UFC fights I meet a lot of people, when you’re sitting front row at the UFC you meet a lot of people there.”

He hangs around with some Irish friends in L.A., who play for the local L.A. Cougars Gaelic football team. Some of his Cork based pals sometimes travel over to see him fight.

“They come to my fights if it’s in New York, as L.A. is a bit far and its expensive for people to go over. But they make it over to New York and they’ll all be there on Friday night for this one,” he predicts.

Runowski (30) has lost twice and drawn once in 25 fights, but Walsh is not taking him for granted.

“He is good, he’s tough,” he reflects. “It’s going to be a tough fight. I think I’m a lot more skilful, I punch a lot harder than him, and I look forward to showing my skills and what I can do.”

The co-main event will see Ali Akhmedov and Pierre Hubert Dibombe compete in a 10-round Super Middleweight bout.

Callum is delighted Roach is in Dublin for the fight.

“Absolutely. Having Freddie here is unbelievable. Having the team I that I have here looking after me is amazing,” he exclaims. There’s a possibility McGregor might come to tomorrow’s fight. Asked if he’d ever take up bareknuckle boxing, which McGregor has financed in a new franchise in America, he replies with a smile: “I’ve been fighting bareknuckle my whole life. If there an opportunity to get paid for it….”.

Roach adds he’s met McGregor a few times.

“His coach has introduced me to him about five times. He says, ‘nice to meet you again’,” he winks.

* Additional bouts on the card include:

Thomas Carty (8-0, fighting out of Dublin, Ireland), who trained with double Oympian Kellie Harrington, takes on Jonatan Exequiel Vergara in a Heavyweight bout.

Former Olympian Emmett Brennan (3-0, fighting out of Dublin, Ireland) faces Kevin Cronin (8-1-1, fighting out of County Kerry, Ireland) in an eight-round bout for the Super Middleweight Celtic Title.

Craig O’Brien (14-3, fighting out of Dublin Ireland) clashes with Edward Donavan (7-0 fighting out of Limerick, Ireland) for the Super Welterweight Celtic Title.

Shauna O’Keefe (2-0, fighting out of Clonmel, Ireland) locks horns with Valgerdur Gudsteinsdottir (7-5, fighting out of Reykjavik, Iceland).

Gareth Dowling (fighting out of Dublin, Ireland) makes his professional debut on the card against Daniel Nowak.

Ella Thompson (6-4, fighting out of Dunboyne, Ireland) takes on Dolly Sambrook (4-3, fighting out of the United Kingdom) in an amateur bout.

* Tickets on sale at https://www.ticketmaster.ie/walsh-v-runowski-dublin-20-09-2024/event/1800610E27DA9EC3

* The main fights can also be viewed via UFC Fight Pass, and also in Ireland and the UK on TNT