Callum Simpson credits late sister for inspiring comeback Ivan Zucco KO after being dropped EIGHT SECONDS into fight
CALLUM SIMPSON called on inspiration from his late sister Lily Rae to come from behind and stop Ivan Zucco to win the European title.
Simpson suffered the devastating news that his 19-year-old sister had tragically died last year in a quad bike accident on holiday in Greece.
5
5
But the Barnsley boxing hero - who headlined at the Oakwell Football Ground - continues to fight in Lily Rae's honour.
And she would have watched on with pride as her big brother came back to stop Zucco in round ten after three knockdowns.
Simpson, crowned the European super-middleweight champion, said: "Not once did I give up, those last few rounds I'll be honest I started thinking about my little sister Lily.
"I'll be honest, I just thought I had to push for her and for everybody.
"This time last year, Lily was sat up here cheering me on and she was there with me tonight when it got tough, when it got hard.
"From round eight, I thought, 'I've got to dig deep, I've got to keep pushing, I've gotta do it for her. She was with me tonight."
Simpson filled Barnsley's 23,000-seater - but he got off to a horror start after being floored by only the second punch Zucco threw.
Simpson made it to his feet with little trouble but opted to try and make Zucco pay - and buzzed the travelling Italian himself before the bell sounded.
The opener was a frenzy of wild shots with both men hurt and the following two rounds was much of the same.
And again Simpson was down in round three after a huge left hand as the chaos continued.
'We never know' - Tyson Fury refuses to rule out comeback as Anthony Joshua nears new 'amazing' fight deal
The former British and Commonwealth super-middleweight had to pick himself up and dust himself off to turn the fight around.
And that is exactly what he did with constant pressure in the second half of the fight turning the tide.
By round ten, Simpson was on the front foot and trapped Zucco in the corner - letting off a devastating triple uppercut.
It dropped Zucco - who got to his feet - but again he was pinned in the corner and floored with two of the same shots.
The underdog European once again made it to his feet but Simpson, smelling blood, jumped on Zucco and forced him to the floor with a barrage of shots.
This time there was no coming back for Zucco - as Simpson turned the fight on its head with a comeback victory for the ages.
5
5
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
'Wilder moment' - Relive Wardley's knockout of Huni
Update: Date: 23:30 BST 7 June Title: Wardley rolls on Content: Wardley beats Huni by knockout The Fabio Wardley train rolls on! Justis Huni was putting on a show until Wardley's right hand came to the party at Portman Road and that was that. That's all from us though, thanks for being here for that showstopper and we'll see you again soon. Read Kal Sajad's report from ringside. Update: Date: 23:29 BST 7 June Title: Post Content: Wardley beat Huni by knockout What a night! Update: Date: 23:26 BST 7 June Title: Who can be Britain's next heavyweight superstar? Content: Wardley beat Huni by knockout Time to look back at our story from almost a year ago where we looked at who Britain's next heavyweight star might be. Of course, Daniel Dubois has gone on to become world champion and is one win away from becoming undisputed champion of the world, but two of the other three are still going strong. Fabio Wardley is heading towards a potential world title fight after dealing with Justis Huni in extraordinary fashion. Johnny Fisher may need to go back to to the drawing board after a heavy knockout loss to David Allen. Take a look for yourself here. Update: Date: 23:23 BST 7 June Title: 'It adds to the mystique around Wardley' Content: Wardley beat Huni by knockout Carl FramptonFormer world champion on DAZN I didn't see it coming. Fair play to Fabio for pulling that out of the bag. It adds to the mystique around him and his background. He got compeltely outboxed but he still had the dynamite to finish it off. When you carry power like that, you can do that. I think Justis Huni got a little be complacent and walked into one. Update: Date: 23:21 BST 7 June Title: 'He's just an awesome fighter' Content: Wardley beats Huni by knockout Justis Huni speaking to DAZN: "That's my curse. I even said before this fight it only takes one second to switch off, it happened tonight. I'm grateful to Fabio and his team and to Ipswich to be able to perform in front of you. Get behind him, he's going to do great things. "He's just an awesome fighter. He never gave up and he got the win, he deserves it. Thank you Ipswich for the opportunity to perform here, I'm grateful." Update: Date: 23:19 BST 7 June Title: 'That was a Deontay Wilder moment' Content: Wardley beats Huni by knockout Queensberry promoter Frank Warren speaking to DAZN: "Eat your heart out Deontay Wilder, that was a Deontay Wilder moment. He's got a big heart, he's a powerful man and again, he stopped another one. I've got to take my hat off to Justis Huni, they both boxed very well. Ipswich, you did him proud and he did Ipswich proud too. "After that fight, it will settle the heavyweight division now to know who will be the mandatories. He is there. He's going to take a bit of time out now. Let the dust settle. He's in the position and he's done that through sheer grit, sheer hear. "This is such a fabulous place to put a fight on. I'm sorry about the rain, but everyone stayed and both men put on a great fight." Update: Date: 23:17 BST 7 June Title: Simpson stops Zucco in Oakwell Content: If you're wondering what happened in the other fight tonight, well it was also a cracker! Callum Simpson was knocked down TWICE by Ivan Zucco before pulling off a last-gasp knockout in the tenth round. These football ground fights, eh? Update: Date: 23:16 BST 7 June Title: Post Content: Wardley beats Huni by knockout That was boxing at it's finest, wasn't it? Fabio Wardley was miles behind on the cards and then pulls out the punch of his life. Update: Date: 23:14 BST 7 June Title: Get Involved Content: #bbcboxing, via WhatsApp on 03301231826 or text 81111 (UK only, standard message rates apply) Absolute detonation!!! Unbelievable shot. Though he has to shore up those defences because any top Heavyweight will knock him down long before he gets a chance. He won't get the time he got tonight. But a totally unreal ending! Will MK Update: Date: 23:12 BST 7 June Title: 'I know how to win fights' Content: Wardley beats Huni by knockout Fabio Wardley speaking to DAZN: "Before we say anything, I just want to say a huge thank you to everyone in this building tonight. I've been on this weird and wonderful journey in boxing and I wouldn't be here without you. This isn't just for me, it's for all of you. "I don't profess to being any (Oleksandr) Usyk or Justis Huni who has all the skills, but I know how to win fights and that's one thing I knew I had to do tonight. "Justis Huni is a great operator. We'd drilled everything over and over again. I should've performed better in some of those rounds. "He's a great boxer, some great skills and he showed me everything he had tonight. I didn't expect to bank rounds like that with Justis. I hurt him a bit in the first round and maybe I had too much confidence early on." Update: Date: 23:11 BST 7 June Title: Post Content: Wardley beats Huni by knockout What's next for Fabio Wardley then? A world title shot? I'm sure we'd all love to see that. Update: Date: 23:10 BST 7 June Title: Post Content: Wardley beats Huni by knockout Darren BarkerFormer world middleweight champion on DAZN The name of Fabio Wardley grows around Ipswich now, he is a star. Update: Date: 23:08 BST 7 June Title: Get Involved Content: #bbcboxing, via WhatsApp on 03301231826 or text 81111 (UK only, standard message rates apply) Unbelievable!! Fabio 'Rocky' Wardley!!!!!! Adam - keep believing & never give up Update: Date: 23:07 BST 7 June Title: Post Content: Wardley beats Huni by knockout Update: Date: 23:06 BST 7 June Title: Post Content: Wardley beats Huni by knockout Boos for Huni at the start have now turned to cheers. That tells you everything you need to know about Huni's performance. Update: Date: 23:04 BST 7 June Title: Post Content: Wardley beats Huni by knockout Credit to Huni for taking the fight on short notice and putting on a real show at Portman Road but no one could've stood up to that kind of power. Wow. Update: Date: 23:03 BST 7 June Title: Post Content: Wardley beats Huni by knockout Wardley and Huni embrace as Ed Sheeran is playing (obviously) but let's hear from Wardley. We'll have full quotes coming your way very soon. Update: Date: 23:02 BST 7 June Title: Post Content: Wardley beats Huni by knockout Barry JonesFormer world champion on DAZN Fabio Wardley was getting totally outboxed, but in one punch it is over. That is what makes a legend. Update: Date: 23:01 BST 7 June Title: Post Content: Wardley beats Huni by knockout Still can't believe what I've just seen. Boxing is incredible. Update: Date: 23:00 BST 7 June Title: Post Content: Wardley beats Huni by knockout Huni came in with the right and BANG, Wardley lands an absolute monster of a right hand on the button. That is what Wardley does!
BBC News
2 hours ago
- BBC News
Simpson survives two knockdowns to stop Zucco
Super-middleweight Callum Simpson picked himself up off the canvas twice before securing a stunning stoppage victory over Ivan Zucco in his home town of 28, made history as he maintained his unbeaten record (18-0) to become the town's first European champion when he stopped Italy's Zucco in the 10th round at Barnsley FC's Oakwell Stadium. The Englishman dedicated the win to his sister, Lily-Rae Simpson, who died aged 19 in a car accident in Greece last year."Not once did I give up, in those last few rounds I'll be honest I started thinking about my little sister Lily," Simpson said."I'll be honest, I just thought I had to push for her and for everybody. This time last year, Lily was sat up here cheering me on and she was there with me tonight when it got tough, when it got hard."From round eight, I thought, 'I've got to dig deep, I've got to keep pushing, I've got to do it for her'. She was with me tonight."With the win, Simpson puts himself in prime contention for a step up to world level by the end of the the raucous Oakwell crowd feared the worse with only eight seconds on the clock in in the opening round when Zucco downed Simpson with a hard left shook off the early knockdown and buzzed Zucco with some fine punching of his own, but the home favourite was caught too square in the third round, dropped for the second time by a left on by 23,000 inside the football ground, Simpson was not to be deterred and he continued to advance - taking a number of risks along the sensed an opening in the 10th round as he stalked Zucco before launching a stunning left uppercut on the chin of his opponent - who then sank to his knees before beating the was subjected to another punishing uppercut and slumped to his knees but he bravely rose on the count of eight, until a third knockdown meant the Italian's corner pulled their man out of the fight.
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Aussie heavyweight Justis Huni suffers shock one-punch KO in interim WBA world title showdown
Australian heavyweight Justis Huni's valiant bid for the WBA Interim world title has been ended by devastating 10th-round knockout to rising English star Fabio Wardley. The 26-year-old from Brisbane had stepped in at short notice to replace injured American fighter Jarrell Miller and for nine rounds looked in complete control in front of a raucous crowd at Portman Road, the home of Wardley's beloved English soccer team Ipswich Town. Boasting a glittering amateur career, including a World Championships bronze, Huni looked keen to display his credentials on the big stage. He demonstrated his firepower from the off, causing Wardley real problems with powerful combinations, mercilessly targeting the body as he racked up round after round on the judges' scorecards. Huni insisted he hadn't flown over 10,000 miles not to try to cause an upset and his stinging right hand, lively footwork and impressive hand speed continued to cause problems as the tiring Briton battled to contain his opponent going into the tenth. But it was then that Wardley somehow pulled out a stunning right-hand from absolutely nowhere, forcing an astonishing KO and sending his relieved fans into wild celebrations. WHAT JUST HAPPENED‼️ FABIO WARDLEY KNOCKS JUSTIS HUNI OUT!! 😱🤯 #WardleyHuni | Live Now on DAZN — DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) June 7, 2025 The Aussie looked in complete control of the bout until he was floored in the 10th round 'That's my curse. I even said before this fight it only takes one second to switch off, it happened tonight,' Hunis told DAZN. 'I'm grateful to Fabio and his team and to Ipswich to be able to perform in front of you. Get behind him, he's going to do great things. 'He's just an awesome fighter. He never gave up and he got the win, he deserves it. Thank you Ipswich for the opportunity to perform here, I'm grateful.' Wardley, whose win will boost his WBA ranking with the sanctioning body, was keen to praise the previously unbeaten Aussie for his performance. 'I don't profess to being any Usyk or Justis Huni who has all the skills, but I know how to win fights and that's one thing I knew I had to do tonight,' Wardley said in the ring. 'Justis Huni is a great operator. We'd drilled everything over and over again. I should've performed better in some of those rounds. 'He's a great boxer, some great skills and he showed me everything he had tonight. I didn't expect to bank rounds like that with Justis. I hurt him a bit in the first round and maybe I had too much confidence early on.'
