Callum Walsh TKO5 Elias Espadas... Irish junior middleweight Callum Walsh (14-0, 11 KOs) scored a fifth-round technical decision victory over Elias Espadas (23-7-1, 16 KOs) at the Chumash Casino, Santa Ynez, California.  Following an accidental clash of heads that occurred during round two,  ring doctor Tony Hicks inspected the cut on Walsh's right eyelid prior to round three and once again prior to round six. The second time saw the fight was halted. The scorecards were consulted and Walsh was the decisive winner with a score of 50-40 across the board. 

 

Tom Loeffler of 360 Promotions who is Walsh's promoter, had plastic surgeon Dr. Pearlman Hicks on hand.  He sealed the wound with eight stitches. Dr. Hicks has fifty years experience, including sealing the massive cuts Vitali Klitschko suffered in his 2003 fight against WBC heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis. That back then took sixty stiches applied to several skin layers. Walsh's cut is nowhere near as severe. However, the California State Athletic Commission automatically rules that Smith will not be able to fight for sixty days while he heals. 

 

Post-fight, Walsh accepted a challenge from also fellow undefeated Fernando Vargas Jr. and the aim is for them to fight on the undercard of the Alvarez-Crawford show in Las Vegas on September 13th. 

 

Loeffler said: ”I was very impressed by the way that Callum came out. He`s a very fast starter. You could see the distinct difference in speed, power and accuracy. This was definitely a good test for him concerning the way Elias Espadas boxed in his last fight fought against undefeated Sadriddin Akhmedov. I expected a very tough and rugged fight and that`s what we were getting, until the clash of heads in the second round. And I was impressed with how Callum retained his composure, purpose and his poise, with the blood streaming down his body, still able to engage and land on Espadas. So it went into the fifth round and the referee called the ring doctor in and they stopped the fight, with Callum winning every round.  Callum has been automatically suspended for sixty days. That gives him plenty of time and we are going to try to get him on to the Canelo vs. Crawford Show and it should be fine for him to heal by then. This is the third time that Dr. Pearlman Hicks has sewed up Callum. Twice on his face and once on his hand, so Callum was in good hands from one of the best plastic surgeons I've ever seen."