Singh gets Midlands title shot at bantam
Tom Powell and Callum Singh…how city chance to become champ
CALLUM Singh has another shot at a Midlands title – this time up at bantam.
The tall Coventry boxer will face Frazer Morgan for the vacant belt at Sports Connexion, in his home city, on September 11. The Derbyshire fighter has lost only one of eight.
“I don’t know a great deal about him,” Tom Powell, who trains Singh at the respected Bulkington gym, admitted. “He’s tall and rangy and with a new team now. He’s a decent fighter.
Singh’s last Midlands title fight – down at super-fly – didn’t end in defeat in the ring: his hopes went south on the scales.
He failed to make weight against Sean Bruce, although the bout still went ahead as an eight rounder, Callum winning on points.
That 2024 result has grown in status – Bruce has gone on to gain the British title down at flyweight. Sean’s also registered the sole loss on Morgan’s record via a 10 round decision with the Midlands super-fly crown at stake.
The only man to beat 24-year-old Callum in nine paid outings is thunderous punching Lennon Mulligan. In his Glasgow stomping ground, Mulligan prevailed in the sixth of a wild and woolly shoot-out which showed Singh possesses plenty of old-fashioned bottle. He was dropped heavily in the first but battled back to wage trench warfare.
“Callum was the victim of his own wrong-doing and he’ll admit that,” Powell, who has been with the boxer since the very beginning, said. “He just wanted to do damage rather than box him. Both of them were going to get clipped and, unfortunately, it was Callum who got clipped first. He was out on his feet for four rounds, but was stopped on his feet.
“He got up (from a sixth round knockdown) at seven and the ref stopped it, which was the right call. If he hadn’t, we would’ve thrown in the towel. I learned more about Callum in that fight than in all his wins – and that’s a fight we’d take again. He just got it wrong.”
Singh’s style is easy on the eye – the moves are smooth, the punches correct and solid. He was a respected, solid amateur for Bulkington without breaking onto the national scene. “He didn’t train properly,” Powell insisted, “he didn’t have the right nutrition. When I was training Callum (in the amateurs), I was training 30 or 40 other lads – it was hard to keep on top of him. When he turned over, I could give a lot more of my time.
“He won a few Midlands titles, got to the quarters and semis of national championships and won some Box Cups. The lads he lost to were really good lads and he’d lose on split decisions.”
Looking at Singh’s long frame, I always felt squeezing down to super-fly was a big ask, yet Powell and Bulkington boss Brendan Norman have not given up on the lighter division.
“Truthfully, I think he can make super-fly,” Powell said. “Bantam is probably where he’s best now, he’s big enough. I think he could go between the two weights. If something came up at super-fly, with the right nutritionist he could make it. For the fight in Scotland, he made bantam easy.”
I’m not convinced, frankly. If Singh couldn’t make super-fly for his title fight with Bruce, the struggle to reduce to the poundage can only be more difficult close to two years later.
Singh, who runs his own car valeting business, is a talent and can claim honours at bantam – he may well grown into a full-blown featherweight. “He’s capable of being a British champ,” Powell added, “it’s about how he progresses after September’s fight. Over 10 or 12 rounds, he, understandably, finds it harder to move as much as he does, so we’re changing things.
“What Callum puts his mind to, he does really well. He works full time, he trains full time, he has a family – I’m very proud of where Callum is today.”