Freddie Roach was beaming.

As the venerable trainer talked with reporters at ringside in Madison Square Garden’s Theater after Callum Walsh’s first round knockout of Dean Sutherland in March, you couldn’t wipe the smile off his face.

“We were warming up for one-and-a-half rounds in the dressing room, and we knew he was gonna go out there and beat the heck out of somebody,” said Roach. “His combinations were so explosive that someone came up to me and said, ‘Freddie, don’t break his hand.’ I said, ‘We’re okay.’”

Another laugh and someone asked when Walsh, (13-0, 11 KOs) would be ready for a title shot.

“Two weeks, let’s go,” said Roach before walking back to the locker room.

I brought this exchange up to Walsh earlier this month.

“Freddie loves the knockouts,” said the 24-year-old Irishman. “He loves when you go in there and just get the job done, especially since we were there for a while. We were in New York for a week. It was a long time being out there, and then obviously being in that locker room for hours before the fight. So, I got it done nice and quick for him and didn't take any damage and I'm ready to get back into camp straight away for the next one. But Freddie, he was very happy, especially since my last couple of fights have been like that. That was probably the happiest I've ever seen him, too, since that should have been my toughest fight so far.”

It wasn’t, but on paper, Scotland’s Sutherland was seen as a good test for the WBC Continental Americas junior middleweight titlist. Then the fight started, and Walsh was on target with practically everything he threw. At 2:45 of the opening round, he finished his foe off. It was a good win any way you slice it, but when you consider that he got rid of Przemyslaw Runowski and Carlos Cervantes in two rounds each in his two previous bouts, is Walsh getting enough rounds at this formative stage of his career? That’s not a concern to him.

“No, I get enough rounds sparring in the Wild Card. I'm sparring three days a week all the time. I don't need to do any more than I need to," he laughs.

"If I can get the fight over in one round, I'll finish the fight in one round. I don't need to be in there any longer. I still get paid the same whether I fight one round or ten. So yeah, I like to get it done quick.”

This attitude has built Walsh a sizeable fan following, as evidenced by the crowds that enthusiastically greeted him in Dublin and New York City. Add in a dry wit with the media and the fact that he is always chasing a knockout, and it’s no surprise that there’s a lot of hype around Cork’s 'King'. But with the hype comes the backlash from those who think he hasn’t been tested yet, and that with such high-profile opportunities, he should be fighting contenders. The counter to that is that with 13 fights, he’s fighting who he should be at this point. For Walsh, it’s much ado about nothing. He just shows up when he’s supposed to and does his job.

“I think you'll really see the best of me when I fight the best out there,” he said. “I suppose it’s hard to tell right now when I'm fighting guys that people don't really know. So when I fight someone that everybody knows, that's when you'll see the best of me and that's when my best performances will come out.”

Walsh, who returns to the ring on June 21 to face Elias Espadas, knows that the Mexican veteran isn’t going to move the needle in terms of opponent recognition, but he’s staying busy and wants to keep his knockout streak going.

“Obviously, I trust what the team gives me, but if I just keep knocking people out like this in a round or two, they'll have to give me big fights quick. So we'll see after this next one. We'll see how this goes and then see what's next. I just keep fighting the man that they put in front of me.”

If those men in front of him keep falling, his promoter, 360 Promotions, will have to act accordingly, something Tom Loeffler is well aware of.

“This was his best opponent and his best performance,” said Loeffler after the Sutherland fight. “We might have to speed up his timeframe.”

If anyone does know how to move a fighter properly, it’s Loeffler, who remains amazed at how Walsh, at just 24, has taken all this in.

“He’s as cool as a cucumber,” he said. “You’ve got (UFC CEO) Dana White sitting here in the front row, you’re in Madison Square Garden, you figure there would be pressure on him, but his preparation with Freddie Roach was just tremendous. It seems like the better opponents we put him in with, he has a better performance. And I keep forgetting that he’s only 24 years old. I started working with Triple G and he was already 30 years old. 24 years old, 13 fights with 11 knockouts, and just the ice in his veins. He’s come a long way. He’s talked about starting on the fishing boats in Cork and he doesn’t take anything for granted. He works hard in the gym and you see the results in the ring.”

And Walsh refuses to get flustered by any of the noise around him. Raise his level of competition? He’s ready. More interviews? Bring ‘em on. And if the going gets tough, he believes he’s got the equalizer.

“I know I'm working to get these opportunities,” Walsh said. “When they come around, you have to do your best, and even if I'm having a bad night, I still have that knockout power. It's a fight. I'm going to hit you at some stage. When I do, it's going to change the whole fight. I could have the worst night ever, but if I land a shot, you're probably going down or the fight's going to change drastically and I'm going to take over. So that's why I like to have that in the back of my mind. I can't really have a bad night. When you have knockout power, it's hard to have a bad night. Even if you're four or five rounds down, I'm going to land a shot at some stage and it's going to change the fight.”