Exclusive: New European Champion Callum Simpson Reveals His Secret to Composure and Looks Towards Hamzah Sheeraz

Callum Simpson, the newly crowned European super-middleweight champion, has revealed the personality trait responsible for propelling him towards more world honours.

Despite preserving his unbeaten professional record by beating Ivan Zucco last weekend, Simpson survived two huge scares before securing a 10th round TKO victory over the Italian.

Knocked down immediately after the first bell, Simpson was sent to the canvas again in the third round of a dramatic contest which took place at Oakwell Stadium, home of his local football club Barnsley.

After being praised for his ability to overcome adversity, particularly in front of a partisan South Yorkshire crowd, Simpson exclusively told SportsBoom how he taught himself to be calm under pressure before making his debut against Ellis Dube six years ago.

“I remember getting my hands wrapped, before that first fight, and something went wrong with them,” he remembered. 

“My trainer wanted to do them all over again but I told him ‘No, leave them.’ He tried to get me to agree but I wouldn’t."

“The reason I didn’t want them wrapping again was because I wanted to see how I performed when things weren’t perfect. I’ve always been like that."

“I know some people who have to have everything just right. I get it and if that’s what works for them then fair enough."

“But I’ve always been someone who goes the other way. If there’s a thread hanging off my shorts or gown, I don’t snip it off."

"That would irritate the hell out of a lot of people but, the way I see it, you’ve got to be able to stay calm and focused when things aren’t going your way in this business. It’s just how I’ve always been.”

GROWING REPUTATION

Simpson (18-0) embellished his reputation as one of the UK’s most marketable talents by becoming the first person to conquer Zucco. Around 15,000 people bought tickets to watch him headline the final show of promoter Ben Shalom’s agreement with SKY television; more than double the number who saw him secure a wide points verdict over Zak Chelli at the same venue nearly 12 months ago.

“I didn’t let my ego get in the way when things went wrong,” Simpson told SportsBoom.com. 

“Honestly, I think you can trace it back to the fact I’m not bothered if things aren’t exactly right."

“Listen, with the fights I want to have next, I know I’m going to have to dig deep and come through some difficult moments. That’s the sport we’re in, it comes with the territory."

“But I know now that I can do it. I had that belief, anyway. But now people have seen it.”

Aged 28, Simpson is now targeting an all-British clash with Hamzah Sheeraz after the Slough man elected to move up a division following an unsuccessful tilt at the WBC middleweight title. 

Ranked number seven by the IBF before his outing against Zucco, Simpson is also set to be more favourably viewed by the WBC, WBO and WBA when the sanctioning bodies update their list of contenders.

“Zucco was tough, really tough,” he said. “Fair play to him but, to be honest, I felt he was fighting on fear pretty early on. That’s the sense I got."

“It was an emotional night for all sorts of different reasons. But I’ve shown that I can control those emotions and I want the biggest matches out there now.”