Callum Simpson became super middleweight European champion on Saturday night but was made to work for his victory against a game opponent in Italy’s Ivan Zucco.

An estimated 16,000 fans packed into Barnsley’s Oakwell Stadium expecting their local British champion to add the European crown to his résumé. But the party atmosphere fell to silence when Simpson found himself on the canvas just seconds into the fight.

Zucco came in undefeated, with a reputation as a big puncher. Simpson knew the danger but became a witness to it just eight seconds in, when a sharp left hand dropped him to the canvas. Oakwell was stunned. Simpson looked embarrassed as he rose to beat the count, but with over 11 rounds remaining, there was no sense of crisis, yet. That changed quickly when Simpson went down a second time.

He responded well, recovering composure to take the second round and building momentum in the third. But just as he had Zucco backed onto the ropes, the Italian snapped out another left hand, catching Simpson clean and sending him down again.

With two knockdowns against him, Simpson had no margin for error. But instead of retreating into caution, he turned the boxing match into a dogfight.

From there, Simpson bullied Zucco into submission. The Italian’s corner signaled to referee Jon Llona Fernandez to stop the contest at 2:28 of the tenth round.

Outside of the two 10-8 rounds awarded to Zucco, Simpson swept the others. Still, despite claiming the biggest title of his career, this won’t go down as his cleanest performance.

The Barnsley man looked wild at times and often smothered his own work when he had Zucco on the ropes, leaving himself no space to land cleanly.

Zucco’s power remained a threat throughout, but the fight’s fast pace depleted the tank of the Italian. His energy waned as the rounds progressed. Late in the fifth, Zucco looped in a stamina-depleted left hand which Simpson was able to avoid with ease.

Zucco still had his moments, especially in the early halves of rounds, but Simpson’s work was consistently more effective.

Simpson found his best success with the uppercut, though his wild tactics often prevented him from using it consistently, until the tenth round. With Zucco trapped in a corner, Simpson landed a huge left uppercut that buckled his opponent’s legs.

Three consecutive right uppercuts followed, forcing Zucco to take a knee. He rose to continue, but Simpson kept the pressure on, pinning him down again.

After Zucco rose for a third time in the round, his team stepped to the ring apron and instructed the referee to stop the fight. It was a brave effort, but the punishment had taken its toll.

The nervous tension in Oakwell vanished. In its place: a 16,000-strong celebration.

Afterward, Simpson reflected on what he called his toughest win to date.

“I knew it was going to be a very tough fight, and I trained very hard expecting a tough fight. I want to be a world champion by next year and they’re the kind of fights that I need.”

He continued, “Those two knockdowns, I was just getting warmed up. I got caught cold with those knockdowns, but a very tough man, Ivan Zucco.”

“I’ve got that dog in me, I’ve said that since day one. Maybe I needed it tonight, Zucco’s a very strong man.”

Last year, 7,000 fans watched Simpson claim the British title at Oakwell by defeating Zac Chelli. This time, 16,000 turned out for his European triumph over Zucco.

If he keeps winning in this all-action style, it’s not hard to imagine a full-capacity Oakwell cheering him on in a world title fight next year