Troy Williamson produced the kind of Cinderella story boxing rarely accommodates.
Williamson knocked out Callum Simpson in Round 10 Saturday night at the First Direct Arena in Leeds, England, to capture the European, Commonwealth and British super middleweight titles.
Williamson (22-4-1, 16 KOs), the former British super welterweight champion, lost his belt to Josh Kelly in December 2022. It was the first of four defeats in five fights for the Darlington man, with his only victory in that period emerging over journeyman Ramiro Blanco. Williamson was urged to retire in boxing circles after the fourth loss this past April, but “Trojan” refused to give up, believing he still had something left to give — and boy was he proven right.
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After losing three on the trot, Williamson bounced back to claim the English championship with a ninth-round TKO upset of Mark Dickinson this past September.
Williamson entered Saturday’s fight with the previously undefeated Simpson (18-1, 13 KOs) once again as a big underdog, but produced the performance of his career when it mattered most. At age 34, Williamson has also found his ideal weight class.
Simpson had early success walking Williamson into straight shots as Williamson plodded forward and tried to close the gap on the much taller man. Williamson didn’t have much trouble enticing Simpson into a fight, though, and in Round 2 the pair began to exchange shots. Williamson was looking for quality power punches while Simpson was flurrying.
Williamson managed to connect with right hands over the top of Simpson’s jab in Rounds 3 and 4. The jab of Williamson also came into play in these frames at mid-range. Williamson got his first breakthrough early in Round 5 — a right hand which troubled Simpson momentarily. Despite having a good round in the sixth, Simpson was off-balance again courtesy of a Williamson left hook. It was clear the edge in power belonged to Williamson and that Simpson was starting to feel the pace.
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Simpson came back in Rounds 7 and 8 as he found a home for short, snappy punches on Williamson’s chin. The challenger was leaving himself open for Simpson’s jab, rather than countering it as he had earlier in the bout.
Williamson had Simpson backed up on the ropes with a left hook to right hand two-piece at the end of Round 8, and continued his success into Round 9 with a trio of clean rights. Simpson still let his hands go in the ninth, but the shots seemed to lack enough force to keep Williamson off of him.
In the deciding session, Williamson floored Simpson 38 seconds into the round with a right hand, left hook combination. Simpson tried to hold on after beating the count but was immediately rocked again by a left hook and ate punishment on the inside. Williamson managed to create separation between the pair, where he found a home for successive right hands and followed it up with a combination, but it was the uppercut that sent Simpson to the canvas for a second time.
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Simpson was given one more opportunity, which was short-lived as right hands from the new champion rained in and forced Simpson down for a third time, at which point referee Lee Every saw no need to administer the count.
Craig Richards delivers one-punch knockout of Dan Azeez
Elsewhere on Saturday, Craig Richards thrust himself back into the light heavyweight title mix.
Richards (19-4-1, 12 KOs) scored a highlight-reel 12th-round knockout of Dan Azeez (22-2-1, 14 KOs) in their all-British clash at the Legon Sports Stadium in Accra, Ghana.
Azeez, despite being the shorter man, out-jabbed Richards in the early stages of their contest. Richards is a notoriously slow starter and Saturday was no different. Azeez had ample success with his left-hand lead and chipped in right hands over the top of Richards’ low guard.
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Richards began to get into the fight in Round 4 when the pair started trading straight shots. The former world title challenger rocked Azeez in the final few seconds of the session with a right. The fifth and sixth rounds were competitive, but Richards’ success with the left hook and an uppercut in the final minute of the sixth stanza inched him in front.
Azeez came back in the seventh, finding a second gear and having similar success with the backhand as in the early rounds. Richards got the better of the eighth, but the contest was still ebbing and flowing until Richards took over from the ninth onward. Azeez could no longer sustain the volume he had in the early rounds and Richards — who started slow — was suddenly having his best moments.
By the penultimate round, it was all Richards. “Spider” dominated proceedings in the all-South London battle, breaking Azeez down punch-by-punch with combination punching and body work. Richards wobbled Azeez in the final round with a right hand before a terrific left hook knocked out Azeez to end a grueling fight.