Callum Walsh vs Przemyslaw Runowski Preview
Callum Walsh clashes with Poland’s Przemyslaw Runowski in a high-profile clash in Dublin on September 20th. It’s a meaningful bout for Walsh who headlines a major card in his home country for the first time in his career.
The Cork native is one of the most-hyped prospects on the planet. He currently holds the WBC Continental Americas Super-Welterweight title. Now Walsh returns to where it all began to reconnect with the Irish masses.
He faces an experienced veteran in Runowski. It’s a big opportunity for the Pole to steal Walsh’s thunder and derail the hype train. On paper, this seems like it should be a showcase event for ‘King.’ However, Walsh still has many questions to answer about how good he is.
Callum Walsh vs Przemyslaw Runowski Key Stats and Head-to-Head
Few young fighters have enjoyed as sharp of a rise as Walsh. After giving up on an encouraging amateur career he famously convinced Freddie Roach of his potential. Now he’s a WBC Continental Americas Super-Welterweight title holder.
Walsh enters this fight with an undefeated 11-0 record and 9 knockouts. His most recent victory was a crushing second-round KO win over Carlos Ortiz in California. He ran through the Mexican with ease, but the Runowski fight may be a slight step up.
His clash with Ismael Villareal remains the biggest test of his career so far. In that fight, he suffered a headbutt, a low blow, and the first knockdown of his career. But he rallied to win a controversial decision on points. Walsh acknowledged that he allowed Villareal to hit him too much.
Some fans doubt his ability to break into boxing’s upper echelon. However, the reality is that he’s still just 23. He has an elite coach in his corner in Roach and a top promoter in Tom Loeffler. Meanwhile, UFC President Dana White has actively backed Walsh in one of the most surprising subplots of his career.
Runowksi is a relatively obscure boxer but he has a decent record on paper. He’s currently 22-2-1 and is riding a four-fight win streak. ‘Kosiarz’ is as gritty as they come and has never suffered a knockout loss. He only has six KO victories to his name which suggests that Walsh has the power advantage.
Get ready, it all goes down in Dublin 🇮🇪
Tickets to see Walsh vs Runowski go on sale WEDNESDAY 🚨@KingCallumWalsh | #WalshRunowski pic.twitter.com/cvPSoNuYFH
— UFC (@ufc) August 19, 2024
‘King’ is a southpaw and this presents a further challenge for Runowski. The Pole has a very conventional style and won’t offer anything that Walsh has never seen before. Nobody considers Walsh the trickiest boxer on the planet. But he is likely to be the more technical fighter in this bout.
Walsh also has a slight edge when it comes to height and reach advantages. He’s several inches taller than Runowski at 6 feet and has a 72” reach. Runowski’s last match was a third-round win over Benjamin Lamptey in New York. The Pole’s most recent defeat came in 2021 against Michael McKinson in London for the WBO Global title.
Callum Walsh vs Przemyslaw Runowski Predictions
It would be promotional malpractice to set Walsh up for failure in front of his home crowd. That’s why our boxing prediction is for ‘King’ to win by knockout. We expect him to deliver an emphatic finish in front of his home crowd.
Runowski has over twice as many fights on his record as Walsh. But this doesn’t mean much because many of these were eight or even six-rounders. Meanwhile, he hasn’t been boxing elite talent on the Eastern European circuit.
All the signs point to Walsh causing Runowski plenty of damage. The Irishman is bigger, stronger, and faster than his veteran opponent. Runowski previously fought as low as the featherweight division. Boxing has weight classes for a reason, and we think facing Walsh could be a massive mistake for him.
The good news for Runowski is that Walsh is hittable. We didn’t see it in the Ortiz bout but that was a stay-busy fight. This should be a tougher test for the young Irish prospect. Runowski must channel Ismael Villareal’s approach if he wants to succeed. The New Yorker hurt Walsh, but we haven’t seen anybody else test his defence.
However, we don’t think that Runowski has the punching power to damage Walsh. His low 27% knockout percentage doesn’t inspire much hope. Runowski’s last stoppage victory was over Michael Syrowatka in 2020 although Lamptey retired in the corner earlier this year.
🗣️ 'All I've done is sort of help him build his career, finance him, because it's fun!'
Dana White breaks down exactly why he's getting involved in boxing and promoting Callum Walsh's homecoming fight! | 🥊
Become a member ➡️ https://t.co/zjoL9xndtL pic.twitter.com/P1yerPZImG
— Off The Ball (@offtheball) August 20, 2024
Another issue is that Walsh believes that he’s a superstar-in-waiting. That’s the result of hanging around with Dana White and Triple H. He has access to some of the best facilities on the planet and enjoys world-class sparring with elite partners at Wild Card. Even if he’s not the finished product yet, he has a higher ceiling than Runowski.
We predict that Runowski’s toughness will keep him in this fight until the sixth or seventh round. Then Walsh will find openings and unload with savage power. This will be an early night for the Pole. Walsh has a massive opportunity to become Ireland’s next male hometown hero.
However, boxing is so exciting because anything can happen. Check out the live betting odds after a couple of rounds. Even if Runowski shocked the world and dropped Walsh early we’d back the Irishman to rebound. The odds of a Walsh outright victory might be more appealing in this case.
Callum Walsh vs Przemyslaw Runowski Betting Tips
Callum Walsh enters this boxing match as a strong favourite on our betting site. This won’t surprise anybody because it’s his first headliner in Dublin. A €10 bet on Walsh at 1/7 would make a €1.43 profit if successful.
Betting on Walsh to win this match outright won’t make sense for most players. It’s not lucrative enough and his relative inexperience means that there’s an element of risk. Yes, he should win this bout comfortably, but you would need a massive stake to make those odds worthwhile.
Luckily, boxing betting has plenty of other markets. Why not bet on Walsh’s method of victory? We believe that he is going to inflict the first knockout loss of Runowski’s career. The hardnosed Pole represents a challenge, but Walsh should figure him out. The Dublin crowd will be baying for blood.
This is a big test of Walsh’s maturity. It would be a mistake to pursue the finish too early. We think he’ll follow Roach’s gameplan to a tee. He’ll break down Runowski’s body before finishing him in the mid-rounds.
Confident players may even select the round he secures the KO victory. We think it’s most likely to come in rounds six or seven. Consider grouped-round betting for a safer option. We advise selecting rounds six to eight. An over-under wager would also make sense. We’d pick the fight to go under 8 rounds or over 6.5.
This FRIDAY! Callum Walsh vs Przemek Runowski 🇮🇪 🥊 #WalshRunowski
🎟️ https://t.co/1QbT5VImvi pic.twitter.com/n3JOr8RyRL
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) September 16, 2024
Historically, Runowski’s most successful method of victory is by decision. This seems unlikely against a younger and harder hitter like Walsh. It’s 9/2 for him to earn an outright victory over Walsh with €10 potentially making a €45 profit. Will he stun Dublin’s 3Arena into silence?
Another popular option for boxing fans is to create an accumulator. There’s some massive boxing action this weekend. You can bet on Daniel Dubois vs Anthony Joshua in a huge all-British heavyweight clash for the IBF strap on Saturday. Meanwhile, Josh Warrington hopes to upset the odds against IBO Super-Featherweight champion Anthony Cacace. A bet on Warrington is worth 9/5 with the Leeds native a big underdog.
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Callum Walsh vs Przemyslaw Runowski Outcome
Walsh is on an upward trajectory but his promoters won’t want to rush him too quickly. He’ll likely get the chance to defend his WBC Continental Americas title again before taking on a ranked name. Don’t forget, he’s still only 11-0 so it’s not that he’s ducking opponents.
Image Credit: Sports Illustrated
It’s unusual for a boxer to receive such media attention before going 20-0. However, Dana White and the UFC Fight Pass platform helped push him to a bigger audience. An emphatic victory for Walsh in Dublin would help him to connect with the local fans. This would help enhance his profile again.
A bout with Abass Baraou would make sense. The German holds the WBC’s No. 9 ranking and has a 16-1 record. A Runowski victory would be catastrophic for Walsh and his promoters. But this is boxing so we can’t rule it out. Anything can happen and that’s why this sport is so exciting.
