Tom Loeffler got the phone call no boxing promoter wants to receive after all the pieces of his Hollywood Fight Night Boston promotion were in place.
The president of Los Angeles-based 360 Promotions was bringing boxing back to Boston headlined by an ambitious and charismatic young fighter from Ireland under the tutelage of a Hall of Fame trainer from Dedham.
Loeffler put together a main event with a European accent when he matched Callum “King” Walsh (5-0, 4 KO’s) from Cork, Ireland, against Spaniard Leonardo Di Stefano Ruiz (10-1, 9KO’s) set for Thursday night at BU’s Agganis Arena.
Walsh is trained by legendary cornerman Freddie Roach, the force behind a litany of world champions across all weight classes. The two operate out of the Wild Card Boxing gym in Hollywood, Calif.
“With Ruiz, he broke his finger,” said Loeffler during a media gathering on Tuesday at West Side Johnnie’s in the North End. “He broke his finger sparring unfortunately and that is one of the hazards of the job with training for boxing.
“They sent us an x-ray and it was a pretty severe break and then we had to scramble to get a replacement opponent. It is not easy but it is one of those things you must go through.”
Loeffler may have inadvertently upgraded the 10-round super welterweight fight when he brought in veteran brawler Wesley Tucker (15-4, 9 KO’s). This pairing has the qualities of a no quarter given, center of the ring, slugfest inside the scarlet ice palace on Commonwealth Ave.
“We found Wesley Tucker from Toledo, Ohio, and he’s very experienced and the last guy that Tucker fought was 20 wins and one loss,” said Loeffler. “So, you can see for a guy of Callum’s caliber with five fights that Tucker is a big step-up fight for him.
“Tucker was in Detroit training and preparing for a fight so he is in shape. We put out a request to all the matchmakers that we know for whoever was willing to take the fight on short notice. We were able to put that together.”
The Walsh camp had no objections even though they had to revamp their fight strategy to accommodate Tucker. The monkey wrench thrown into the game plan was that Tucker is a lefty while Ruiz fights from an orthodox stance.
Walsh is also a southpaw, which will make for some interesting exchanges as the two combatants trade jabs and hooks from the port side. Walsh said he had encountered many lefties while building an impressive amateur resume that included six Irish National Championships and one European gold medal.
“It doesn’t matter because I spar with everybody at the Wild Card and growing up my main sparring partner back home was a southpaw,” said Walsh. “I’ve been sparring with southpaws since I was very young.”
Roach thinks adding Tucker to the card is good for two reasons. Walsh will not have to look very hard to find Tucker, who prefers to brawl in the middle of the ring and drive his opponents into the ropes. That’s also a big part of Walsh’s style and nothing incites the rabble of the fight racket like two sluggers going toe-to-toe.
“He is short but he is very strong and fluid and physical and he is a good puncher,” said Roach. “If I had the choice between a boxer and a puncher, I would take the puncher because my guy is a puncher too.
“It is a very good match style-wise and should be great through 10 rounds. We had to switch out of our (game plan) when Ruiz pulled out. But Callum is very good at making the right adjustments and he hits very hard.”
Tucker said he has fought in hostile venues and is savvy enough to realize that if a close bout goes to the judge’s scorecards, the decision is unlikely to go his way. Tucker figures the surest way to avert being robbed is to leave the hometown hero lying on the canvas.
“I had a tune-up fighting coming up in April so I’m in great shape,” said Tucker. “I make it difficult for people to fight me because I use my angles and stuff like that.
“I can punch and I can move. I’m a punching boxer and can do either or because I can move on my feet. I am going to have to get him out of there with a knockout.”