BY: Art Campomanes Staff Writer for World Liberty TV

New York, NY (February 6, 2024) Tom Loeffler’s 360 Promotions held a New York City Press Conference on Monday in Mid-Town Manhattan to formally announce the highly anticipated return of The Fastest Rising Star in Boxing, Cork, Ireland native ‘King’ Callum Walsh, (9-0, 7 KOs), to The Theater at Madison Square Garden against hard-hitting Kazak, Dauren Yeleussinov, 

(11-3-1, 10 KOs), in the ten-round headline clash. The bout is sanctioned for the vacant WBC Continental Americas Super Welterweight Title as part of a huge St. Patrick’s Day Weekend event on Friday, March 15.

 

 

Additional top New York City based undercard fighters also being introduced to the large media contingent in attendance included Undefeated Super Lightweight Prospect, ‘The Albanian Bear’ Reshat Mati, (15-0, 7 KOs), Super Lightweight Contender, Cletus ‘The Hebrew Hammer’ Seldin, (27-1, 23 KOs), Light Heavyweight Contender, Derrick ‘Take it to The Bank’ Webster, (29-4-1, 14 KOs), and Pro Debuting, Eight-Time New York City Golden Gloves Champion, Super Welterweight Nisa Rodriguez. Also, in attendance was Promoter Lou DiBella, representing light heavyweight ‘Irish’ Joe Ward, (10-1, 6 KO).

Below are quotes from the participants; ‘King’ Callum Walsh “I want to thank everyone for being here again today. It’s great to be back here in New York and like I told everybody at the last fight I’d be back soon. I’m ready to put on another exciting fight and show even more of what I can do on March 15. The Irish will definitely be out in force for this show. I’m only 22 years old and this is my second time headlining at Madison Square Garden and I look forward to making it my second home. Many thanks to Tom Loeffler, Dana White and my trainer Freddie Roach for all their support.”

 

Reshat Mati: “Thanks very much to Tom Loeffler and 360 Promotions for this opportunity. The 140lb. division is the most stacked division and my game here is to fight and win. The Albanians will also be in the house on March 15 and I’ll be ready to put on a great show for everyone.”

Cletus Seldin:“Finally, I’m back at Madison Square Garden. I’m excited and going to show the best version of ‘The Hebrew Hammer’. I’m 27-1 with 23 knockouts and ranked #9 in the world by the WBA. If there’s ever been a time for a Jew in New York City to be fighting at the Garden it’s now. On March 15, Irish crowd, Jewish crowd; were ready to rock and roll.”

Derrick Webster: “Thanks very much for the opportunity. This is a great card to be a part of. I’m 16-17 years in the game and never turned down a fight. I’m going to have a world championship level training camp. I know Joe will come ready and I’ll definitely come ready on March 15.”

 Nisa Rodriguez: “I want to thank everyone for helping make this happen. It’s a pleasure to be back where it all started for me in the amateurs. The first time I fought at Madison Square Garden I was 17 years old and I’m very happy to make my pro debut there.”

Tom Loeffler:“Since we announced this event, I’ve had a wealth of promoters, managers and fighters who want to be part of March 15, the St. Patrick’s Day Weekend event at The Theater at Madison Square Garden and we’re very happy to have the opportunity to work with these select fighters for the added value they bring to the show.”

“It’s great to be promoting back at Madison Square Garden, The Mecca of Boxing. Ever since I managed Kevin Kelley in the late 90’s at MSG I realized the value of fighting at the Garden. Anytime we can promote at Madison Square Garden, it’s a golden opportunity.”

“I also want to give a big shout out to Dana White and UFC FIGHT PASS for all their support of 360 Promotions and Callum Walsh.”

Lou DiBella: “This is a really great event and really important to keep up our tradition of having a great show on St. Patrick’s Day. This is a card that’s set up in a tremendous manner. It’s great to see Nisa here, a New York City Police Officer, Reshat who has the talent to become a star in boxing and Cletus who’s like the Engelbert Humperdinck of boxing. Derrick Webster is the toughest opponent Joe Ward has fought. It’s time for Joe to step up and that’s why we made the fight.”

 

The Fastest Rising Star in Boxing, Undefeated ‘King’ Callum Walsh, (9-0, 7 KOs), of Cork, Ireland will battle on St. Patrick’s Day Weekend, Friday, March 15 against hard-hitting Kazak veteran Dauren Yeleussinov, (11-3-1, 10 KOs) in the ten-round main event at The Theater at Madison Square Garden and broadcast live globally on UFC FIGHT PASS, the world’s leading digital subscription service for combat sports. The fight will be contested for the WBC Continental Americas Super Welterweight Title.

Walsh vs. Yeleussinov is promoted by Tom Loeffler’s 360 Promotions as part of their nationally acclaimed Hollywood Fight Nights series. Tickets starting at $45 can be purchased at MSG.com.

Popular Irish light heavyweight Joe Ward, (10-1, 6 KOs), of Moate, Ireland will make his return to Madison Square Garden against battle-tested veteran Derrick ‘Take it to the Bank’ Webster, (29-4-1, 14 KOs’) of Glassboro, New Jersey on the St. Patrick’s Day Weekend Event. He hits the ring following a second-round stoppage of Prince Oko Nartey on November 18, 2023 in Letterkenny, Ireland. This will be Ward’s fifth fight at Madison Square Garden including wins over Frederic Julan, Britton Norwood, and Tory Williams. The upset minded Webster looks to bounce back into the win column following a split decision draw against Christopher Pearson on August 26, 2023 in Atlantic City, NJ.

‘The Albanian Bear’ Reshat Mati, (14-0, 8 KOs), will put his undefeated record on the line in a super lightweight contest. Fighting out of Staten Island, New York, the 25-year-old Mati returns to The Theater at Madison Square Garden ring following a ninth-round knockout of Dakota Linger on June 23, 2023. This will be his fifth fight inside the famed venue.

Long Island fan favorite, super lightweight Cletus ‘The Hebrew Hammer’ Seldin, (27-1, 23 KOs) will make his long-awaited return to Madison Square Garden. Most recently Seldin knocked out Patrick Okine on October 10, 2023 in the sixth round at Sony Hall in New York City. The all-action Seldin is currently on a six-bout winning streak with all victories coming by stoppage.

Irish super featherweight prospect Feargal McCrory, (15-0, 7 KOs), will also see action. Fighting on the Callum Walsh – Ismael Villarreal November 9 in The Theater at Madison Square Garden undercard, the Coalisland, Ireland native won a six round unanimous decision over Nikolai Buzolin.

Additionally, super welterweight contender Brian Ceballo, (16-1, 8 KOs), returns on the March 15 event. The popular Puerto Rican native has won three fights in a row including a fourth-round stoppage of Kenneth McNeil on November 9, 2023 on the Callum Walsh – Ismael Villarreal undercard. The victory was his fourth fight at Madison Square Garden.

Eight-time New York City Golden Gloves Champion and NYC Police Officer Nisa Rodriguez will make her professional debut in a four round women’s super-welterweight bout.

Walsh vs. Yeleussinov is promoted by Tom Loeffler’s 360 Promotions as part of their nationally acclaimed Hollywood Fight Nights series. Tickets starting at $45 are Now On-Sale and can be purchased at MSG.com.

Headlining at The Mecca of Boxing on Thursday, November 9, 2023, Walsh made a strong impression on the raucous boxing crowd in the famed venue with a dominant ten-round decision over top local prospect Ismael Villarreal, (13-1).

The March 15 event at Madison Square Garden will be the second straight year Walsh has celebrated St. Patrick’s Day with a headlining fight, previously defeating Wesley Tucker on March 16, 2023 at the Agganis Arena in Boston, MA in front of a huge contingent of Irish boxing fans.

Following a sensational 2023 with four victories, three by knockout, Walsh was named the Prospect of the Year by the World Boxing Council (WBC) in addition to being honored as the UFC FIGHT PASS Athlete of the Year.

A native of Kayindy, Kazakhstan and brother of 2016 Olympic Gold Medalist Daniyar Yelussinov, Dauren considers Brooklyn, New York his second home. Fighting in Almaty, Kazakhstan on March 21, 2023, the southpaw Yelussinov knocked out Bakhrom Payazov in the second round. Seven of his ten knockouts have come in the first two rounds.

About UFC FIGHT PASS: UFC FIGHT PASS® is the world’s leading digital subscription service for combat sports. Since launching in 2013, UFC FIGHT PASS is now available in more than 200 countries and territories. UFC FIGHT PASS provides its members with unlimited access to live.

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About 360 Promotions: In 2017, Tom Loffler founded 360 Promotions to provide an additional platform for boxers to showcase their talents. 360 Promotions produced the acclaimed ‘Superfly’ series giving exposure to tremendous talents in the lighter divisions including world champions.

In 2018, 360 Promotions launched the Hollywood Fight Nights series at the Avalon Nightclub in Hollywood, CA. Hollywood Fight Nights is billed as the VIP boxing experience which provides a platform for rising boxers to develop their talents as future champions.

About Tom Loeffler: Tom Loeffler has worked in the boxing industry for over 30 years. He started by successfully managing numerous world champions and from that experience, in 2003 he founded K2 Promotions with Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko, enabling them to take control of their careers. K2 Promotions holds the record for having promoted the most heavyweight world title fights this century while promoting all the world championship fights of the Klitschko brothers.

Loeffler brought the Spotlight to the Flyweight division launching the Superfly Series on HBO that highlighted stars including Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez, Juan Francisco Estrada, Kazuto Ioka, Srisaket Sor Rungvisai and Carlos Cuadras.

The Superfly series changed the economics for those fighters and the entire division. Loeffler is best known for his work with Gennadiy ‘GGG’ Golovkin, securing his HBO debut in 2012 and then strategically building him into an international superstar, selling out arenas such as Madison Square Garden in New York City, T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas,

The Forum in Los Angeles, and The O2 in London. He secured sponsorship deals for ‘GGG’ with global brands such as Jordan Brand, Hublot, Tecate, Chivas, and Bijan. Loeffler has also worked with Hall of Fame fighters Shane Mosley, James Toney and Laila Ali in addition to former Undisputed Welterweight World Champion Cecilia Braekhus and his first champion, former WBC Featherweight World Champion Kevin Kelley.

He also promoted the US debut of Pound-for-Pound great Naoya Inoue on September 9, 2017 at the first Superfly event in Carson, CA and broadcast on HBO.

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