Callum Walsh’s rapid rise has come against the grain.
The 22-year-old Irishman finds himself at a place a rare few reach this young and this early in their careers — headlining at “the Mecca.”
Walsh (8-0, 7 KOs) squares off with the veteran and Bronx native Ismael Villarreal (13-1, 9 KOs) in a 10-round super welterweight bout as the main event on Thursday night at the Theater at Madison Square Garden.
“It’s an unbelievable feeling,” Walsh told The Post. “It doesn’t feel real, to be honest. I’m going to enjoy it. It’s going to be a big night for me to prove that I’m ready for these kinds of fights and I’m ready for the next level. It’s a big step up in arena, big step up in opponent, it’s gonna be a good night for me to prove how good I am.”
Thursday’s bout, like Walsh’s last seven fights, will be streamed on Dana White’s UFC Fight Pass.
That partnership has been central to Walsh’s ahead-of-schedule ascension.
White, the outspoken UFC CEO, has long been a vocal critic of boxing and its business model, which is much more decentralized than his MMA promotion.
But Walsh, through his influential promoter Tom Loeffler, who’s best known for helping turn Gennadiy Golovkin into one of the sport’s most popular superstars, struck a partnership with White, who has attended a plethora of Walsh’s fights.
Walsh liked White’s blueprint of marketing combat sports stars, particularly countryman Conor McGregor.
And White was a fan of Walsh’s ambition and eagerness to fight the best as quickly as he possibly could.
“Dana had seen me fight a couple of times and he realized that I’m not just the average boxer that’s gonna take easy fights,” Walsh said. “He realizes that I’m actually a massive UFC fan and I’m taking that same mindset, the best fight the best and it doesn’t matter. I think that’s why Dana likes me, and he’s getting behind my career so much because he knows that I’m never gonna take an easy fight and I’m always gonna fight the best.
“And if he ever does want to get involved in boxing, he has somebody that will take hard fights and will fight anybody that is put in front of them.”
It’s showcased Walsh in front of both boxing and UFC fans as a result, helping him market himself to a broader audience.
Walsh — trained by the legendary Freddie Roach who previously trained Manny Pacquiao — Miguel Cotto and Julio Cesar Chavez, among others, has so far delivered on the opportunity as well, ferociously dominating his opponents and hardly being hurt in his young career.
Though he took an unconventional path, Walsh has emerged as one of boxing’s most-intriguing young talents.
And he believes he’s changing boxing in the process.
“I understand why the MMA fans don’t really like boxing, because nobody wants to take tough fights,” Walsh said. “Everybody is picking and choosing who they want to fight, whereas with the UFC, you don’t have a choice. The best fight the best. And the thing about UFC, if somebody loses a fight, it doesn’t matter. They just come straight back and they’re fighting again.
“Whereas in boxing, one loss is like a massive thing for your career. Everyone has this Floyd Mayweather thing where [they want to be] 50-0 and that’s why everyone is padding their records, because it’s such a big deal. …
“[White] knows that I’m young, hungry and I don’t care who I fight. I’ll fight anybody, anywhere. Who wants to work with a boxer that’s gonna be picking and choosing fights? When you have a young fellow like me, who came straight from Ireland and will fight anybody, and who has been fighting anybody and who’s been knocking them out, why would you not want to work with that?”
On the cusp of stardom, Walsh came from humble origins.
He believes he’s an example of what any working man can achieve.
“I used to work seven days a week on fishing boats, just to afford a car to drive myself to training that night,” Walsh said. “I’ve worked for everything in my career. I haven’t gotten any of this easily. I’ve never taken an easy fight. I’ve always fought the best and I want people to understand that I’m not special.
“I’m just like anybody else.”
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