After suffering a shock stoppage defeat and losing his European, British and Commonwealth titles to Troy Williamson, the popular 29-year-old super middleweight from Barnsley picked through the wreckage of the loss and came to some major conclusions.

He made the difficult decision to leave his long-time trainer, Mark Hurley, and joined up with Robert McCracken. Rather than taking a keep busy fight to rebuild his confidence and get used to a life under McCracken, Simpson chose to invoke his rematch clause and plunge directly into a make-or-break return with Williamson.

Both gambles paid off Saturday night.

Simpson got revenge over his 34-year-old opponent from Darlington. After 12 intense, exciting rounds at Leeds’ First Direct Arena, Simpson was handed a unanimous decision. The scores were 116-112, 117-112, 115-113.

“I told everybody, as amazing as the British title fight at Oakwell [Stadium] was, as amazing as the European was, this one was going to be that little bit sweeter, and I think you all agree, it definitely was, it definitely was,” a jubilant Simpson (19-1, 13 KOs) said after regaining his British and Commonwealth super middleweight titles.

“I really didn't want it to be that exciting, I really didn’t. You know, the plan was to try and box, keep my range, my timing. I did it maybe 10 percent of the time, which is better than 0 percent of the time, so I'm making little improvements.”

Williamson stopped Simpson in a massive upset December 20 at First Direct Arena.

Expected to give the massively popular Simpson a solid run-out but an ideal runway to a massive 2026, Williamson tore up the script and dropped Simpson four times in the 10th round.

He again fought bravely and with determination, but he came up against a man who refused to be denied in their rematch.

“The better man won on the night. Callum was superb tonight. Hats off to him,” Williamson said. “I’ve been on some run, English, British, Commonwealth, European, all in the space of nine months, so of course I’ll be back, I’m a true warrior, I’ve got great supporters following me up and down the country, so I’ll be back.”

Before the fight, many assumed that Simpson needed to box, move and rely on his jab if he was to even the score. Simpson has always been at his most effective, however, as a high-energy, volume puncher.

Simpson started by circling the ring using short, straight punches but quickly adopted the close-quarters, high tempo style that saved him when Ivan Zucco floored him twice in their European title fight in June 2025. He picked up a tiny cut over his left eye, but the approach stopped Williamson from building any momentum.

Williamson was badly hurt by a straight right followed by a left to the body in the third. Simpson cut loose and landed a beautiful uppercut, but Williamson somehow stayed upright.

Williamson recovered well and found some stiff punches of his own in the fourth. Although he enjoyed some moments of success during some fierce exchanges, Simpson’s volume and work rate were the dominant factors in the fight as the fight reached the midway point.

Williamson bounded off his stool to start the seventh and caught Simpson at the end of some sharp punches, but the Barnsley man absorbed the shots much better than he did first time around and soon pushed Williamson back to the ropes and seemed to hurt him again with a left hook.

It briefly felt like the tide may have turned in the eighth as Simpson seemed to begin tiring and Williamson got his attention with a hard left hook and a right hand as the round ended.

Then tired, Simpson had lost his shape, but he used his size to bull Williamson back to the ropes and maul him. All of a sudden, a huge left hook stiffened Simpson’s legs and he looked badly hurt.

This time, he recovered well and boxed his way through the 10th.

Simpson wouldn’t be denied. It was effective rather than pretty, yet he continued to press himself forward and deny Williamson any space to work.

Williamson continued to spit venom and once again had Simpson on wooden legs as the fight entered its final seconds.

This time, Simpson survived to hear the scorecards and his efforts were rewarded.