Callum Simpson stops Steed Woodall in emotional win to retain British and Commonwealth super middleweight titles | Boxing news

Callum Simpson stopped Steed Woodall in his British and Commonwealth super middleweight title defense on an emotional night in Sheffield.

Simpson boxed for the first time after the death of his sister, who tragically died young at the age of 19.

Lily-Rae Simpson’s name was emblazoned on his shorts and robe as he arrived to enter the Canon Medical Arena.

Thousands of his supporters gathered to escort the Barnsley man into the ring with a crowd to deafening cheers that reached an even louder crescendo when Simpson forced the finish.

At the first bell, Woodall was undeterred by the boos that greeted him and tagged Simpson with jutting right crosses in the first round, a sharp jab that showed just how dangerous he can be.

The challenger from Birmingham found the right shots in the early part of the first round.

But when Simpson put together the combination, there was a big cheer.

He fired a right and followed it up with a solid straight left. He dug left hooks into Woodall’s body, tilting them viciously.

Targeting Woodall on the ropes, he rocked his head with a flurry of shots. Simpson checked him again with his cross and put more pressure on Woodall in the second round.

He trapped Woodall on the ropes and an incendiary combination saw him slam the challenger to the canvas. He mixed right uppercuts into a sequence of punches and a left-right hook finish put the Birmingham man down.

Simpson continued to attack Woodall, although the challenger tried valiantly to fight back. He wanted to continue, but the referee intervened and finished at 1:56 of the second round.

His sister was immediately on his mind when his victory was announced.

“I feel bitter,” he said Sky Sports. “I’ve won these titles in front of all my fans, but there’s one person that everyone knows I wish was here, but I know he looks down on me and I know I’m making him proud.

“I brought my other siblings, mom, dad and stepmom into the ring just to show that she’s not here, but she’s here in spirit. I still have a lot to be thankful for.”

Was it stopped too early?

Simpson himself did not consider the termination premature. “If he didn’t stop him then, we would have stopped him half a second later,” said the champion.

“For me it should have stopped. At least Steed is well and healthy.

“I knocked him down. He was still on shaky feet. Anyone who knows me knows he would have fallen again.

“The referee did his job and protected him. Obviously Steed is going to fight, but it’s a legitimate stoppage.

“It only went one way.”

Sky Sports’ expert Matthew Macklin thought it was premature. “He wasn’t on his feet,” Macklin said.

“Even if he was going to go ahead and stop it, it wasn’t the right time to stop it.

“I think Callum Simpson intended 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 just had a quick chat with [Barnsley CEO] John Flatman and him have been given permission to mess around on the pitch over the summer,” he said.

“Oakwell, we’re coming for you again!”