Callum Walsh was on his way to becoming one of the biggest names in the World Boxing Council (WBC).
Instead, he’ll spend his competitive prime working in the dark corners of Meta Apex, the facility best known for hosting UFC “Fight Night” events with little to no fanfare. That could change with the new addition of seating (check early ticket prices here), but the damage may already be done.
Advertisement
Blame UFC CEO Dana White and Zuffa Boxing.
“I feel sorry for Callum Walsh,” WBC president Mauricio Sulaimán told BetssonUK. “He was a WBC continental champion and former WBA US champion. He’s a very nice guy, very close to me on several occasions. You look at his Instagram, it’s full of videos and photos with a WBC belt and saying how proud he is, what is his dream to be a WBC champion one day. And now, joining this new Zuffa (Boxing), he has given up his WBC championship. They put him in a fight, he is a super welterweight fighter, but Zuffa “It doesn’t have super welterweight. They only have eight weight categories.”
Walsh, 24, became the first fighter signed by UFC CEO Dana White in 2023. Fast forward to 2026 and the Irish “King” headlines Zuffa Boxing’s inaugural card in Las Vegas. Walsh improved to 16-0 by defeating Carlos Ocampo last weekend on Paramount+ “and the result was mediocre.”
“They make them fight at middleweight and the result was mediocre,” Sulaimán said. “He was eliminated. He won a fight by unanimous decision, but that is a perfect example of a bad intervention. A fighter who is in a category, is being put or has been ordered to fight, and I feel very sorry for Calum Walsh, but I wish him the best of success. We will always have open arms for him, but it is just one of the examples. There is too much confusion. ”
Advertisement
White and Co. have refused to work with existing sanctioning bodies, including the WBC, and plan to create their own boxing ecosystem (including this “illegal” championship belt). Much of Zuffa Boxing’s future depends on whether the Muhammad Ali Revival Act becomes law later this year.
“He is a very nice boy and his dreams are shattered at the moment,” Sulaiman added. “Maybe he’ll succeed; hopefully, but from what I know him, he just lost the opportunity to be WBC World Champion, because he’s moving away from the WBC, and now he’s fighting in a higher weight class, which is not good for him. I don’t know, I wish them the best. I don’t want to wish them bad, but if they come and change the law and go against the fighters, we’re going to defend the fighters, always.”
For more Zuffa Boxing news and notes, click here.