Callum Simpson fighting to live bigger and better football dream

Callum Simpson has the incentive of a return to Barnsley, England’s Oakwell Football Ground when on Saturday, against Steed Woodall, he will make the first defense of his British and Commonwealth super middleweight titles.

The lifelong Barnsley supporter – Barnsley spent the 1997-98 season in the Premier League, but the 28-year-old Simpson was too young to remember the considerable impact that that had on the town in Yorkshire, England – won his titles from Zak Chelli at Oakwell in August 2024, on an occasion that proved similarly positive for Boxxer and Sky Sports.

That the 7,000 tickets were sold out for that night has convinced Simpson’s promoter and broadcaster of the value of returning there again in the event of victory over Woodall at Sheffield, England’s Park Community Arena. Simpson also hopes to one day achieve the increasingly rare feat of winning the British title “outright” by making three successful defenses, giving another domestic opponent and fight venue considerable appeal.

“It’s always a massive risk for Sky or Boxxer,” Simpson told BoxingScene. “They invest a lot of money in their shows, and the last thing they want to do is lose the money. I were adamant it was going to work; they saw the confidence in me and the support as well. Not just me, but my supporters proved what we needed to prove. I believe next time they’re going to use the full stadium. We all just know it’s the next natural progression.

“I’ve done it at 7,000 – let’s headline again [on Saturday], and do it again in the summer. The demand’s there for it. They know it’s going to sell well. They’ll get a good fight for it and know the Barnsley fans will turn up. You see a lot of boxers pretend to be football fans; they’ve seen me at the games.

“Even to sign me – Boxxer were on a roll of signing all these Olympians, and then here I come, Callum Simpson. ‘Are we gonna sign him?’ ‘This is the kid you need to be signing.’ It took a long, long time, but eventually they signed me, and it’s paying off now.

“I enjoyed [fighting at Oakwell] a lot. Even in the build-up – I always have the same mindset of, ‘I’ve worked very hard for many years and when I look back on my career, I want to know that I’ve enjoyed it.’ How short my career is – I don’t want to look back and think, ‘I forgot all that; it went so quick; I didn’t enjoy it; I was nervous.’ So I always try and enjoy everything. I take my time. When I do ring walks, I take my time – I soak it all up. I don’t try and get too excited or too overwhelmed. I try and keep myself relaxed. But I just soak it up and enjoy it, and that’s what I did. 

“All fight week, the open workout, the press conference, the weigh-in – it were a childhood dream. It’s my 15th fight, for the British and Commonwealth title. Some people don’t do that, that night, in their whole careers – never mind someone early in their career. So I’m very grateful for what we did. Barnsley turned out in their numbers, and the show did better than I think Boxxer and Sky expected. That’s why they only did one stand.

“Talking to [Boxxer’s] Ben Shalom, he said, ‘We’ll be lucky if we do 4,000,’ and I told him, I said, ‘You’re wrong – they’re gonna surprise you.’ I think I did 2,000 tickets myself, and then the other 5,000 sold out within 48 hours. It were a massive, massive occasion. They tried to open more stands, but the license they had didn’t accommodate it. We took the 7,000 and ran with that – and were grateful for that.

“My profile in Barnsley’s a lot bigger now. A lot of people didn’t know me until that fight. There’ll be a lot in Barnsley that still don’t know me.

“When I’m walking through Barnsley, walking through town, people come up to me. ‘I were there that night – amazing fight.’ They’ll tell me about the full night, from the day to the evening, and Barnsley’s a small town in south Yorkshire. For them to have someone they look up to bringing them kind of nights to Barnsley – we’ve got the football team, but we’re not doing amazing at the minute – so for me to be able to bring that kind of event and occasion to Barnsley, we’re so proud. For them to be a part of it and see me walking through streets – a lot of people see me on TV, but kids will see me and be like, ‘What are you doing shopping here?’ I’m a normal Barnsley lad, but I’m trying to do big things for myself and my town, and we’re on the way to do that.”

The one-sided nature of the victory over Chelli provided the latest demonstration of Simpson’s potential.

Woodall, 30, has previously lost to Steve Rolls – when Rolls was undefeated, before losing for the first time to the great Gennady Golovkin – and more recently to then-undefeated Padraig McCrory, whose only defeat came against Edgar Berlanga in February 2024.

“Every fight I have, I’m trying to tick different boxes,” Simpson continued. “My last one was about solidifying myself at British level. How would I handle the atmosphere? Doing all the media obligations in the build-up to the fight. Getting on the biggest stage in front of my hometown. So much pressure on my shoulders. I ticked all those boxes. I try to enjoy the pressure. There’s only pressure on you because people believe in you. I take confidence and pride in that. The next fight, I’ll hopefully tick some more boxes.”