Singh wins, but fails to make title weight

Callum Singh with trainer Tom Powell after victory

SATURDAY provided Coventry’s unbeaten prospect Callum Singh with a bittersweet moment.

At Leicester Arena, the talented 22-year-old was to have fought for his first pro title. The boxer who had yet to go beyond four rounds faced Midlands super-flyweight champ Sean Bruce. It was his first real test after six bouts in which he hadn’t dropped a round.

It looked a scintillating 10 rounder, with Bruce, from Leicester, also unbeaten. It was a contest balanced on a knife-edge, yet a title clash that fell apart on the scales.

Callum weighed-in 1.5lbs over the limit, couldn’t shift the excess and the championship battle scrapped.

To his credit, Bruce agreed to fight Singh on the night, but it was over eight rounds with no belt at stake.

And Callum uncorked the best performance of his short career, dropping Bruce in the first and securing a narrow 76-75 victory.

That result may only add to the frustration for Callum who must be pondering what might have been.

“It (the weight) was a miscalculation, there was nothing malicious about it at all,” said manager Jon Pegg.

“It was a misjudgement, and the weight couldn’t be shifted safely on the day. The safety of the boxer is everything.”

Interestingly, those around the fighter plan to ensure he makes the super-fly limit – and video the evidence – to show governing body the Boxing Board of Control, which will ask questions over what went wrong.

They want to show the super-fly division is not beyond the Sky Blue prospect, that a simple error occurred.

But if he is tight at the 8st 3lbs limit – and those around Singh say he’s not - it’s understandable. Callum, who has talent to burn, is tall and long limbed – he towered over Bruce.

He shrugged off the disappointment to uncork a polished, skilful display in a quality contest.

With his opponent buzzed in the first, Bruce momentarily threw caution to the wind and was dropped by a wide right and left.

Callum imposed his authority with long shots in the middle rounds, although every session was close and Bruce poured it on in the last.

“It was a great performance,” Pegg said. “It was wider than 76-75. Some had it 5-3 (in rounds), some even 6-2. What it was, was a cracking contest.

“I said to Callum before the last round, ‘he knows he’s behind and is going to give it his all’.”

That, southpaw Bruce did.

Brendan Norman, head of the Bulkington gym where Callum is trained by Tom Powell, said: “The weight issue isn’t really an issue. The reality is, as a team we all made mistakes. It’s not like he can’t make weight, it was just mistakes made.

“It was a set of scales that shouldn’t have been used. Callum showed Tom a picture on the morning and he was 117lbs (two pounds over) on the scales. Tom said, ‘no problem, we’ll meet in the gym’. He got on the gym scales and was four pounds overweight.

“Tom did the right thing. He could’ve got him to the nearest steam room and been an idiot.

“We all felt really bad and apologised, that’s all we can do. With what he had to put up with the day before, holding it all together and going out and boxing the way he did says a lot for Callum. I thought he won comfortably and with another couple of rounds I believe it would’ve been more decisive.”

Singh is still unbeaten, but not yet a champion. On his biggest night he was defeated by the scales – and that must hurt.