Callum Simpson is British and Commonwealth super-middleweight champion again. He beat Troy Williamson by unanimous decision Saturday night in Leeds, avenging the only defeat of his professional career.
According to BBC Sport, the judges scored the rematch 116-112, 117-112, and 115-113 in Simpson's favor. The 29-year-old, now 19-1 as a professional, dropped Williamson with a big right hand in the third round but had to survive a scare in the eighth when Williamson landed a clean shot. Williamson, knowing he needed a stoppage, pushed hard in the final round. It was not enough.
The first fight, held in December, ended when Williamson stopped Simpson in the 10th round. Most observers knew the upset as a major shock. What they did not know until Saturday night was that Simpson had been fighting hurt from the opening bell.
"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," Simpson said after the rematch. "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 also made a significant change in preparation for the rematch, training under new head trainer Rob McCracken. McCracken has worked with some of Britain's most accomplished fighters, and the switch appeared to pay off. Simpson looked sharper and more composed than he had in the December meeting, controlling long stretches of the fight despite Williamson's late pressure.
Williamson, 34, fell to 22-5-1 with the loss. He pushed Simpson hard throughout and showed the same toughness that allowed him to pull off the original upset, but he could not find the finish he needed in the championship rounds.
Simpson's promoter Ben Shalom was direct about what comes next. He told BBC Sport the fight was "unbelievable" and called Williamson a tough competitor who "kept coming." But Shalom made clear his focus is on bigger targets. He believes Simpson is back in world-title contention and wants to secure a shot within the next 12 months.
Shalom also pushed back on those who advised against taking the rematch in the first place. "In boxing, people are so quick to write someone off," he said. "The amount of people that told me 'do not take that rematch'. We took it, [Simpson] did it and I'm so happy for him."
Simpson said after the fight that, despite wanting a cleaner performance, he respected what Williamson brought into the ring. "It feels amazing," he said. "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."
With the British and Commonwealth belts back around his waist and a new trainer in his corner, Simpson now waits to see whether a world-title opportunity arrives in the next year.