Callum Simpson literally flew his flag as his weight was announced in front of his adoring fans.
The ‘Barnsley Army’ belted out roaring support of its unbeaten hero, who is set to defend his British super middleweight title against Birmingham’s Steed Woodall. Simpson was a trim and fit 167 pounds during Friday’s official pre-fight weigh-in, while Woodall arrived right at the 168-pound limit.
Their scheduled 12-round bout will headline a Sky Sports/Peacock+ broadcast this Saturday from Park Community Arena in Sheffield, England.
Simpson (15-0, 10 KOs) fights for the second straight time in his home county. The 28-year-old outpointed Zak Chelli over twelve rounds to claim to British 168-pound title last Aug. 3 in his Barnsley hometown.
Woodall (19-2-1, 12 KOs) is coming off his most significant win to date, a sixth-round knockout of unbeaten Lerrone Richards last June 14 in Bolton. It came ten months after a disappointing showing versus then-undefeated Padraig McCrory, who soundly outpointed Woodall over ten rounds in their Aug. 2023 meeting in Belfast.
The show’s lone major title fight came with a bit of spice during the obligatory post weigh-in staredown.
London’s Caroline Dubois (10-0, 5 KOs) weighed 134 ¼ pounds for her first defense as full WBC lightweight titlist. Former 140-pound beltholder Jessica Camara (14-4, 3 KOs) was 134 pounds in a bid to become a two-division title claimant.
Dubois playfully attempted to create a little bit of space between the two, as Montreal’s Camara made a point to go forehead-to-forehead. The visiting challenger immediately jumped back in Dubois’ face before another gentle push by the defending titlist prompted security to immediately intervene.
Dubois dominated Maira Moeno last Aug. 3—on the Simpson-Chelli undercard—to claim the interim WBC lightweight belt. She was elevated to full titleholder once Katie Taylor (24-1, 6 KOs) abdicated the 135-pound throne to campaign full time at junior welterweight, where she remains The Ring/undisputed champion.
The process was similar to how Daniel Dubois, Caroline’s older brother, became the full IBF heavyweight titlist.
Below are the weights for the remaining undercard bouts.
Scott Forrest (6-0, 3 KOs), Edinburgh, Scotland, 200 pounds vs. Deevorn Miller (8-2, 6 KOs), Lewisham, London, 200 pounds— rounds, cruiserweight
Sam Hickey (1-0, 0 KOs), Droylsden, Lancashire, 163 pounds vs. Lewis Howells (3-1, 0 KOs), Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, 163 pounds—6 rounds, middleweight
Billy Deniz (12-0, 5 KOs), Dundee, Scotland, 174 pounds vs. Mickey Ellison (15-7, 5 KOs), Darwen, Lancashire, 174 pounds—8 rounds, light heavyweight
Mauro Silva (6-0, 3 KOs), Manchester, Lancashire, 162 ¼ pounds vs. Emmanuel Zion (6-2, 3 KOs), Dulwich, 163 pounds—6 rounds, middleweight
Ellis Price (1-0, 0 KOs), Leeds, Yorkshire, 136 ¼ pounds vs. Liam Fitzmaurice (debut), Sheffield, Yorkshire, 136 pounds—4 rounds, lightweight
Jake Donovan is part of the U.S. team for The Ring. Follow Jake on X and Instagram.