‘They Weren’t Fans of the Wolfe Tones’ – Callum Walsh On Fighting Infront of a Hostile Crowd
Callum Walsh is used to walking into arenas filled with Irish tricolours and the familiar roar of his supporters. But on the Canelo Álvarez vs. Terence Crawford card in Las Vegas, the Corkman found himself in unfamiliar territory – and not just inside the ring.
Instead of rebel songs, it was mariachi bands that set the tone. Instead of a partisan Irish crowd, he faced a sea of Mexican support, there for Canelo but only too willing to back his previously undefeated opponent, Jessie Vargas Jr. For the first time in his career, Walsh – normally the headline act and the man the crowd comes to see – had to deal with hostility from the stands.
Speaking to OffTheBall after the win, the UFC-aligned 360 Promotions man admitted it was a challenge he hadn’t encountered before.
“They weren’t a fan of the Wolfe Tones anyway,” Walsh laughed.
“It was a heavy, heavy Mexican crowd, you know. I wasn’t really the biggest favourite with the crowd all week.”
'They weren't a fan of the Wolfe Tones!'
— Off The Ball (@offtheball) September 16, 2025
'I could hear my girlfriend… screaming!'
'That could have affected me too, the crowd!'@KINGCALLUMWALSH reveals what it was like to get a massive win over Fernando Vargas Jr in front of a hostile home crowd for the… pic.twitter.com/tAw2BL828O
3Arena and MSG bill topped, Walsh is used to walking into venues with Irish fans packed in tight, singing, chanting, and lifting his energy before the first bell. In Vegas, however, he was outnumbered, and the atmosphere was noticeably different.
“That could have been another thing, too. I’m used to walking out and the crowd is there for me, there’s an Irish crowd there, everyone’s singing and cheering.
And usually you can hear friends and family a lot better; in the smaller arena they’re a lot closer. You can hear them a lot more, but I couldn’t hear anything.”
The one exception was the southpaw, who secured a career-best points win over the son of a former world champion’s, closest supporters, who had made the trip to Vegas and sat right on the apron.
“I could hear my girlfriend alright, because she was a bit close. She was ringside, her and my grandmother ringside, so I could hear her screaming, but I couldn’t really hear anybody else. So that could have affected me too, you know, the crowd.”
