Callum Simpson reclaims British and Commonwealth titles

LEEDS: Callum Simpson regained the British and Commonwealth super-middleweight titles after defeating Troy Williamson by unanimous decision in an absorbing rematch here at Leeds' First Direct Arena on Saturday.

Simpson avenged the only defeat of his professional career, when Williamson stunned him by stopping him in the 10th round last December.

This time, however, the 29-year-old produced a composed performance to secure victory on the judges’ scorecards, winning 116-112, 117-112 and 115-113.

Fighting under new trainer Rob McCracken, Simpson made a strong start and rocked Williamson with a powerful right hand in the third round. 

The 34-year-old refused to back down and responded strongly, catching Simpson with a telling shot in the eighth.

Knowing he needed a knockout heading into the final round, Williamson increased the pressure and pushed Simpson onto the back foot.

However, the late surge was not enough as Simpson held on to improve his professional record to 19 wins and one defeat.

Reflecting on his triumph, Simpson revealed he fought through perforated eardrums in their first bout, but returned stronger to avenge his defeat.

"It feels amazing," said Simpson.

"I really didn't want it to be that exciting, but Troy is a tough fighter. He won the last fight so he [had] every right to be confident.

"What everyone doesn't know is that, in the last fight, I perforated both my eardrums in the first round. I was an absolute mess so that fight for me was just trying to survive.

"But I didn't make any excuses. I've come back better, learned from it and I knew I was going to get the win tonight."

Simpson’s promoter Ben Shalom described the contest as "unbelievable" and praised Williamson for continuing to press forward.

Shalom believes Simpson has returned to world-title contention and hopes to secure him a shot within the next 12 months.