Re: Aaron McKenna vs. Etinosa Oliha | Sky Sports - 8 August 2026
Posted: 08 Aug 2026, 03:37
Fight night i!! 
Callum Simpson reaping rewards with Robert McCracken ahead of Troy Williamson rematch
Callum Simpson is loving life under new trainer Robert McCracken ahead of his rematch with Troy Williamson this Saturday at Leeds’ First Direct Arena.
The super middleweight from Barnsley, England, was forced to make a change following the first defeat of his professional career. Simpson was stopped by Williamson back in December, surrendering his British and Commonwealth titles in the process, and has since reassessed his training team.
“I think sometimes when you're winning and everything's going well, sometimes you don't look,” Simpson told Boxing Scene. “There might have been things in previous camps that I thought things could do with changing but when everything's going well, it's like why fix what's not broken? Sometimes you need the loss to happen to be like, ‘You know what, yeah, something needs to change in this aspect.’”
The 18-1 (13 KOs) Simpson has linked up with the experienced McCracken ahead of a rematch with Williamson this Saturday.
“I met Rob for a coffee, I had a chat with him for about two hours,” Simpson explained. “We talked about things that he thinks I could improve on, things that I do well, what his thoughts in terms of my style of fighting. And obviously he's been on a lot of shows I’ve been on, so he's seen me quite a lot. I had a good chat, went and did a session up at EIS with him and I said, ‘Am I allowed to train here?’ He was like, ‘Yeah, of course you can.’”
Simpson has linked up with McCracken’s growing professional stable that includes Galal Yafai, Lauren Price, and Sam Hickey. McCracken also spearheads the Great British boxing squad in Sheffield, England, which has been a refreshing change for Simpson.
“I'm definitely not the best in that gym, honestly, we did tech sparring, obviously it's a different game, but yeah, there's some great fighters, some great lads there,” he said. “There's Dimeji Shittu, Callum Makin … you forget how good they all are. There's some great talent there and yeah, working alongside them has been class as well.”
McCracken also has an exceptional track record with the likes of Anthony Joshua and Carl Froch, leading both to multiple world titles.
“Since being with him, you can see why he's, for me, one of the best trainers in the world,” said Simpson. “With Anthony Joshua, I think that those were probably his best years when he was with Rob. Cal Froch, taking him all the way through, from start to finish and being on the biggest stages. The experience in the corner, experience on fight night and everything else as well.”
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