CALLUM Simpson is looking forward to fighting on Sunday at the O2 Arena in London but believes his planned British title fight in the summer will be much closer to home.
The 27-year-old super-middleweight, from Barnsley, will look for a 14th win from 14 professional fights and a fourth since signing for promoter BOXXER and Sky Sports, against Dulla Mbabe.
He is then set to fight Zak Chelli for the British title in the summer and, while a bill at Oakwell is more likely next year than this, he is hoping for a local venue.
Simpson told the Chronicle: “My fans have been really loyal to me, travelling hundreds of miles to watch me in London and other places. All I can say is my next fight, with Chelli for the British title, will be a lot closer to home and hopefully it will be announced in the ring after I win on Saturday.”
Simpson’s opponent on Sunday is Mbabe, a 30-year-old Tanzanian who has won 34 of his 48 fights – mostly in his home nation but he also lost to former world title challenger Rocky Fielding in two rounds in 2019.
Simpson said: “He’s a knock-out artist. There should be fireworks. He has 29 wins by KO so he is no mug. His past losses have been against top kids who he has taken eight or ten rounds.
“It’s easy to take your eye off the ball and look at the fights in the future.
“But I need to make sure I do the business. I am feeling good and the preparation has been great.
“Every box has been ticked. I have been doing plenty of good sparring and training with top fighters.
“I have been beating all my records in circuit training and with punch counts.
“It’s exciting. It’s my first fight in six months and I haven’t been as active as I wanted to be in those six months.
“But it will be my fourth fight in 12 months which is good.”
The 02 holds 20,000 and the Sky-televised bill also features Olympian Ben Whittaker while the top fight is Frazer Clarke against Fabio Wardley for the British and Commonwealth heavyweight titles. Simpson said: “It’s a great venue.
“I think it’s the second biggest arena in the country. The card is absolutely stacked with big fights. It’s a great show to be on. I have about 300 supporters coming down from Barnsley or the surrounding area. I have friends coming over from Dubai and Tenerife.
“Some people are staying for three nights to watch the press conference, weigh-in and open work out. Quite a few coaches have been organised.”
