On Saturday night, September 19th, in the co-main event of the Skyy Myles Promotions event entitled ‘The Supper,’ Lorenzo “Truck” Simpson defeated Shawn McCalman (17-3, 8 KOs) and won the WBA Intercontinental Title.
Going into the fight, the matchup was considered to be a 50/50 bout between two hungry boxers. Winning the vacant title was important to both boxers because it’s a regional belt that provides a boost in the rankings.
In the opening round of the southpaw vs. southpaw bout, McCalman got off to a good start as he was changing levels with an active jab. Simpson put his jab on display in the second round as he landed multiple jabs to the body.
The third round saw Simpson have success in regards to closing the distance and landing the left hand. As the round was coming to a close, McCalman connected with a few body shots.
The fourth round was highlighted by a solid uppercut landed by Simpson. In the fifth round, McCalman upped his production as he got back to working the jab and targeting the body.
The majority of the second half of the bout was fought in close quarters, as the back-and-forth match went the distance.
At the conclusion of the fight, the judges had to determine if they were swayed by McCalman’s volume or Simpson’s sharp power shots.
In a very technical fight, one judge scored the bout (96-94) in favor of Shawn McCalman. However, that judge’s scorecard was overruled by the other two judges, who both scored the fight (97-93) in favor of Lorenzo Simpson.
With the victory, Lorenzo “Truck” Simpson (17-3, 10 KOs) has won a title belt, and now he feels the sky is the limit. Next on his agenda is a bout against a boxer in the top 15.
Back in January 2017, Coach Calvin Ford and Coach Kenny Ellis were in the corner when Gervonta “Tank” Davis won his first world title. Now the question is, will Lorenzo “Truck” Simpson be the next world champion to come out of the Upton Boxing Center?