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The 42
a day ago
- Sport
- The 42
Callum Walsh's home comforts ahead of Saturday's headline bout may include 'goat yoga'
WHEN CALLUM WALSH last picked up the phone to The 42 ahead of his first-round knockout of Dean Sutherland on St Patrick's weekend, wildfires were raging through his adopted hometown of Los Angeles. As he jumps on a call to chat about his headline bout against Elias Espadas in Santa Ynez this Saturday, LA is once more prominent in the global news cycle: Ice's immigration raids have sparked protests and some of those protests have metastasised into unrest, the scale of which appears to vary between small beer and apocalyptic depending on the political lens through which one views it. But given the degree to which the nation's flag has emblematised defiance on one side of the barricade, it could be argued that June 2025 is not the ideal time for Walsh to fight a Mexican in California. World-rated light-middleweight Walsh, though, is quick with his counter. 'Ah, sure, look… I'm an immigrant too, y'know what I mean?' he laughs. Callum Walsh destroys Scotland's Dean Sutherland (previously 19-1, 7KOs) in the first round of their Madison Square Garden headliner. Savagery by the Cork man, who improves to 13-0 (11KOs) with a highlight-reel finish. — Gavan Casey (@GavanCasey) March 17, 2025 On paper, Saturday's opponent at the Chumash Casino is a sideways step for 24-year-old prospect Walsh [13-0, 11KOs], who took less than a round to dispose of Scottish test Dean Sutherland (previously 19-1, 7KOs) in a downstairs Madison Square Garden headliner on 16 March. Elias Espadas' record reads as a decent 23-6-1, his 16 knockout wins proof enough that the 'Latin Kid' from Yucatán, Mexico, isn't one for beating around the bush when he senses vulnerability. To read between the lines of Espadas' career, though, is to reveal a few further points of concern. He has boxed the majority of his bouts nearer the middleweight limit than Walsh's division of light-middle. In his last outing in April, he fought one of the Cork man's contemporaries — the hard-hitting Kazakh, Sadriddin Akhmedov [previously 15-0, 13KOs] — to a draw. Plus, the financial reward for facing a boxer of Walsh's profile is such that the 34-year-old has been able to afford to prepare full-time for their encounter. Two have two full training camps in such quick succession is a rarity for boxers below title contention and Espadas will doubtless enter the ring on Saturday in an unprecedented condition, physically and mentally. As such, if anyone has any issues with promoter Tom Loeffler's choice of opponent for Walsh this weekend, the Cobh native doesn't want to hear them. 'Whether it's sideways, backwards, whatever kind of a step it is, it's still a man that's training to beat me, and he's coming off a good fight where he got a draw against a 15-0 prospect,' Walsh says. 'He's literally just shown that he's capable of causing an upset, d'you know what I mean? 'He has a lot of experience and I'm getting him off back-to-back camps, so this is the best he's ever going to be: right now. And I understand that. 'I think after this fight, depending on how it goes, obviously… if I get it done nice and easy, I'll 100% be pushing to fight somebody that's undefeated, a prospect or someone else that's coming up alongside me, to show how much better I am than everyone else. But at the end of the day, we need to see how this fight goes.' Walsh switches his phone to the car speaker as he prepares to drive to training. He can't be late for Freddie Roach, the Hall of Fame coach who took a punt on Walsh when the young Irishman blagged his way from Cobh to the door of the Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood at the height of Covid restrictions four years ago. Advertisement There's a buzz in the gym of late, Walsh says, with the return of Manny Pacquiao: the legendary Filipino, now 46, has come out of retirement to challenge Mario Barrios in a welterweight world-title bout next month. Walsh has barely seen Pacquiao at all, however: Roach has put his stars past and present on separate training schedules to maximise the time he can spend with each of them. Roach's newer protégé, however, was on hand to greet an impromptu guest to the Wild Card last week, and one with whom he may have his own conflict of interests. 'Ah, you know what, he's actually a very nice fella, to be fair,' Walsh says of English star Conor Benn, who recently lost a compelling middleweight grudge match with Chris Eubank Jr having moved up from welterweight. 'It was actually my media day ahead of this fight. I didn't even know he was coming but we actually had a good conversation, we were there talking for a while. 'He looked at me and he was like, 'Oh, so who's in your weight class?' And I was like, 'You are! I fight at 154 [pounds].' Suffice to say that the five-foot-eight Benn, who will likely settle into the same division having reshaped his musculature to take on Eubank, didn't like the cut of his six-foot-tall potential opponent of the future. 'He was like, 'Fuck that! I'm going back down to 147.'' Walsh laughs. 'Ah, I was only messing around with him. It was cool. He was very respectful and not very [antagonistic]. Nice guy.' Callum Walsh, Conor Benn and Walsh's promoter, Tom Loeffler. Having headlined in New York on St Patrick's weekend, flying in a couple of weeks early to acclimatise to both the time difference and the weather, Walsh's bout with Espadas will take place just an hour's drive from the home he shares with his girlfriend, UFC star Tabatha 'Baby Shark' Ricci. But home comforts for Walsh will scarcely breed complacency: he has, in recent months, accidentally become a farmer, as will be evident if you are among his 209,000 Instagram followers. 'I like to stay busy, y'know?' Walsh says. 'Every time I get home from the gym, I don't like to just sit down on the couch or whatever. I just, like… I'm going constantly.' It all started with a dog which he and Tabatha rescued from a local animal shelter about two years ago. 'He was an older dog, a pitbull who'd had a bad life, and he couldn't be around other dogs. I felt bad for him so I took him home,' Walsh says. 'I got a trainer to work with the dog, and then we got a new puppy, and they're now best friends — so this dog that couldn't be around other dogs has a best friend and a good life. 'Then there was a whole chicken thing going on in LA there a while back,' Walsh adds. 'Eggs were a crazy price, so Tabatha and I were like, 'Look, we have the space for them, we have a big house and a big garden, so let's get a few chickens. 'And then those few chickens turned into these two goats…' Walsh, who comes from no farming stock to speak of, wound up building from hand a smallholding in his back garden where his ever-growing stable of animals now resides. 'They all get along, to be fair. The goats get along unbelievably well with the dogs. The goats and the chickens get along great. The only ones that don't get along are the dogs and the chickens'. (Walsh and Tabatha learned this to devastating effect during an accidental crossover a few weeks ago). 'I probably like animals more than I like people,' Walsh explains. 'I go home and they're just there, just there doing their thing: the chickens are laying eggs, the goats are just walking around being funny… The goats are honestly hilarious, like. 'This new thing is 'goat yoga' — I don't know if you've seen any of that but it's where people are doing yoga and goats are jumping on top of them. And if I crouch down anywhere in the garden to pick something up, the goats are up on my back. 'They love me because I've had them since they were babies, y'know? I had to bottle-feed them for a couple of months so, anywhere I go, they just walk behind me. 'I can never be bored now because I always have stuff to do. I'm always outside, tipping away. It's kind of relaxing, too, when you're in camp like I am now, and you can just head home and chill out with the few animals. 'And as anyone would know', Walsh says, 'the best thing in the world is when you're after a long day of sparring or training, or you're just tired, and you come home and the dogs are so happy to see you. There's never a day when the dogs are not happy to see you, y'know what I mean?' Walsh, who has knocked out his last three opponents inside a combined five rounds, reckons 'man-strength' at 24, as well as his training regimen with Roche, has imbued his punch power off each hand. Add farm-strength to the equation and there may be no stopping him. Already world-rated after just 13 pro fights, the Cobh southpaw doesn't need to be rushed. But Saturday's examination against the more seasoned Espadas, live on UFC Fight Pass (Sunday morning Irish time), is a box that needs ticking if he is to continue his ascent. 'I think it's all just coming together at at at a good time,' Walsh says. 'I'm very young still, and I think I have a lot more to offer in the future. 'I think I'm going to continue to get stronger and stronger and who knows if people will even let me fight down the road, y'know?' Walsh laughs. 'What happens if I get too strong?' Watch Callum Walsh v Elias Espadas on Saturday night/Sunday morning Irish time live on UFC Fight Pass.
Chicago Tribune
a day ago
- Chicago Tribune
Vintage Chicago Tribune: Inside the final months of Sam Giancana, former Chicago Outfit head
Salvatore (Sam) Giancana headed the Chicago Outfit during the late 1950s and 1960s. Nicknamed 'Mooney' or 'Momo' for his temper, the Chicago native rose from a juvenile delinquent to the crime syndicate's upper echelon. As an adolescent, Giancana belonged to a Taylor Street gang that took its name from the story 'Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves.' Thinking themselves even better, they dubbed their gang 'The 42.' The Tribune reported Giancana was questioned by police in three slayings while he was in his teens. He also drove the getaway car for Tony Accardo — who he eventually succeeded as Outfit head — and served time for 'burglary and moonshining.' In 1939, he pleaded guilty to violating Internal Revenue Service laws. Flashback: An ex-G-man's tales from a real-life mobbed-up tailor shopGiancana traveled extensively and spent lavishly on friends and family, including his three daughters with wife Angeline. He once poured upward of $250,000 into the restoration of the gaudy, but financially ailing, Villa Venice nightclub in Northbrook — with its canals plied by gondolas — to host performances by Frank Sinatra and pals Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. in 1962. Federal officials, however, kept a close watch on Giancana. In the final months of the Oak Park-based hoodlum's life, it seemed he fell out of favor with his underworld associates. Giancana returned to Chicago just as suddenly as he had departed for Mexico eight years earlier. (Giancana was jailed June 1, 1965, for contempt of court when he refused to testify about his crime syndicate ties before a federal grand jury despite being granted immunity from prosecution. He was discharged from Cook County Jail one year later, after charges against him were dropped. That's when Giancana fled to Mexico.) He was rousted out of bed in his Mexico City apartment by immigration officials and put on a flight to San Antonio, where he was handed a subpoena to appear before a federal grand jury to discuss organized crime in his return to Illinois. 'The $500 silk suits he customarily wears, the raky beret he sported while in self-enforced exile, the hairpiece he affected to conceal his balding head — all these were missing,' the Tribune reported. 'When he stepped off an American Airlines jet at O'Hare International Airport at 2:20 p.m., he wore wash pants, a long-sleeved shirt, and bedroom slippers. His only luggage was a shopping bag containing only his bathrobe. He had no wallet, no identification and — far worse, as far as he is concerned — no passport.' As he entered the Federal Building, reporters asked the dapper Giancana what he would tell the grand jury. 'Only my name and address,' he said. Dressed in an expensive double-knit gray suit, a light blue shirt and gray silk tie, Giancana appeared for half an hour before the grand jury. No details were released about what was said. After he invoked the Fifth Amendment, Giancana was granted immunity from prosecution and assured by a judge he wouldn't be asked any questions about matters prior to January 1972. The questions and answers of the session were not disclosed. Giancana testified again in early 1975 and was scheduled to appear again once more. Two former aides to Robert F. Kennedy said agents of the Central Intelligence Agency had contracted with the Mafia with business interests in Cuba — including Giancana — in an aborted plot to assassinate leader Fidel Castro before the Bay of Pigs invasion of 1961. Just hours after he returned from Houston, where he had undergone gallbladder surgery, Giancana entertained friends and family at his Oak Park home at 1147 Wenonah Ave. Police conducted surveillance as revelers entered and exited the home. Someone shot Giancana five times as he prepared a meal in his basement kitchen. His body was discovered by his live-in caretaker and the caretaker's wife. The assassination of a Chicago mob kingpin 50 years ago remains unsolved'A frying pan containing sausage and spinach was on the stove,' Tribune reporter Weldon Whisler wrote. 'The gas was turned off by police when they arrived shortly after midnight, but the food had not burned, indicating that Giancana was shot not long before.' No shots were heard. When the police asked if the basement door was locked, the caretaker replied that it was never locked. Nothing was missing from Giancana's elegantly furnished home. His wallet was found near his body, and a money clip holding more than $1,458 was in his pocket, the Tribune reported. Giancana was interred in the family's mausoleum at Mount Carmel Catholic Cemetery in Hillside. The gun used to shoot him — a .22 caliber automatic pistol with a silencer — was recovered at a River Forest park in August 1975. An inquest into Giancana's murder was conducted, but none of the gangland chieftain's friends or family showed up for it. A jury of six elderly men gave the verdict of murder. Items from Giancana's home — including personal papers and photos of him with celebrities and even Pope Pius XII, were taken as evidence. Investigators had hoped these items, as well as a safe, would give him clues to the identity of his killer. Instead, they revealed Giancana loved the Telly Savalas-character, 'Kojak.' Giancana's death remains unsolved. Giancana's former home on Wenonah Avenue in Oak Park was sold for $900,000. The house had five bathrooms, hardwood floors, Pella windows, designer light fixtures, a first-floor primary bedroom suite and a living room with rounded windows, a wood-burning fireplace and a marble mantel. Other features included newly installed hardwood floors upstairs and a lower level with 8-foot ceilings, maple hardwood floors and a workout studio that doubled as a second bedroom. The home had a rebuilt rear porch and stairs, a tear-off tile roof, new copper gutters and downspouts and a Kichler outdoor lighting system. Thanks for reading! Subscribe to the free Vintage Chicago Tribune newsletter, join our Chicagoland history Facebook group, stay current with Today in Chicago History and follow us on Instagram for more from Chicago's past.
The 42
4 days ago
- Sport
- The 42
Dublin seven-time All-Ireland winner transfers to Meath side Dunboyne
DUBLIN'S SEVEN-TIME All-Ireland winner Eric Lowndes has transferred to Meath side Dunboyne. A club official from the 2018 senior county champions confirmed the news to The42 with today, with Lowndes having featured in a club league game over the weekend. The St Peregrine's clubman left the Dublin squad in 2021, six years after making his senior debut. Lowndes first emerged as part of the 2011 Dublin minor team that featured Jack McCaffrey, Ciarán Kilkenny and Cormac Costello. He was also a talented hurler who represented Dublin in both codes as a minor. He played in both All-Ireland minor finals in 2012, wining the football decider against Meath and losing the hurling final to Tipperary. Advertisement Both of Lowndes's parents are from Meath and he also attended school in St Peter's Dunboyne. Lowndes joins a Dunboyne side who contested the 2021 Meath SFC final where they lost out to Wolfe Tones. Check out the latest episode of The42′s GAA Weekly podcast here
The 42
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- The 42
Kate O'Connor: 'I've had a taste for medals now and I don't want to let that go'
IN TRUE MODERN day fashion, Kate O'Connor found out through social media. After a whirlwind few weeks in which she won European bronze and world silver medals, the multi-event athlete received an Instagram message saying she was spotted on TV. Turns out it was in a BBC advertisement previewing the summer ahead alongside the good and the great of women's sport worldwide. Her dad, also her coach, raced up to her granny's house to rewind the television, record the piece, and send it on. There she was. Coco Gauff, Ilona Maher, Eilish McColgan, Kate O'Connor. 'It's incredible,' she tells The 42. 'It's one of those pinch-me moments. 'When you're winning European and world medals, although I was buzzing for myself, as a sportsperson, you don't really realise that there's a lot of other people that notice what's going on as well — and how big those things actually are. 'Being on an advert alongside huge sportspeople that I would have grown up watching and still do look up to, it's just insane that people are putting me beside them.' It was another high point in a glittering, rollercoaster 2025 for O'Connor. Her history-making exploits in Apeldoorn and Nanjing across a magical fortnight in March are still sinking in, as she thrives in the chaos of completing her Masters in Communications and Public Relations and day-to-day training. 'I suppose no one can really prepare you for what life is like afterwards,' the Dundalk 24-year-old says. A three-week break followed the March madness, the plan to fulfil media and sponsorship duties and other opportunities and focus on athletics thereafter, but there's no sign of things slowing down. It's stressful but fun, and she's enjoying the moment. With time and space, her European and World Indoors pentathlon successes still doesn't feel real. The stuff of dreams, an unforgettable few days. O'Connor can now reflect on a 'really weird time' between the two, from Netherlands to China. Travel, time zones, and emotional and physical wellness all had to be managed. 'I'd come off this huge high of getting a European bronze medal, which I didn't really get to celebrate, because I had to get ready for worlds,' she explains. 'I had never done championships so close together before, so that was kind of playing on my mind. The fact that I was also European bronze medalist was also playing on my mind. 'I wasn't sick, but my immune system was a little bit run down and I just wasn't 100% sure how my body was going to cope or how I was going to perform at worlds. Although I wasn't saying out loud to everybody that I felt pressure, I definitely did. Even during the warm-up, I wasn't sure how I was feeling or what was going to happen.' The rest is history. Silver added to bronze after another string of remarkable performances, as O'Connor won Ireland's first World Indoors medal in 19 years. She could finally celebrate the country's first-ever multi-event medals at major senior competitions. 'That was another thing, I was like, 'Oh my goodness, what if I don't do well at worlds, and then I have to go and celebrate the European bronze medal, but it'll just be a little bit tainted.' Advertisement 'There was all this stuff going on my head, which was all irrational and silly, because whether I medalled or not at worlds, I would have celebrated the European bronze medal. But I think it just made it even more sweeter, the fact that I had the two medals and I was able to celebrate them both together.' Kate O'Connor teamed up with McCabes Pharmacy to launch the McCabes Pharmacy Fit for Life programme. MAXWELLS DUBLIN MAXWELLS DUBLIN This was a phenomenal medal breakthrough on the biggest stage after a stunning rise, and an injection of confidence and motivation for her and her team. 'I've had a taste for the medals now, and I don't really want to let that go. I want to work hard and hopefully put myself in a good position this summer.' An all-rounder as a child, O'Connor joined her local athletics club, Dundalk St Gerards, aged seven or eight. She gave everything a go, but her preferences lay with 800m, ball throw and long jump. While other kids focused on one, or married sprinting and jumping, O'Connor's events often clashed at championships as they were so different. 'Subconsciously, and in a weird way, I was throwing myself into a bit of a multi-event world where you're going from one place to the next, you haven't got much recovery and you've just got to adapt. 'My first moment of ever seeing someone in real life and thinking, 'Oh, this is what I want to do' was Jessica Ennis winning the (heptathlon) gold medal at 2012 Olympics. I was 11 at that stage, and I remember watching her and thinking, 'Woah, she's doing what I'm doing — all these random events and going from one place to the next.'' Around that same time, an opportunity arose to represent Ireland in a schools pentathlon in Scotland, and it all went from there. 'I loved it. I loved the chaos of the event. I loved going from one place to the next, and having lots to work on. I fell in love with the sport. My dad fell in love with the event, and we just kind of learned all the bits together as we've grown.' O'Connor with her father and coach, Michael. Bryan Keane / INPHO Bryan Keane / INPHO / INPHO Michael, a former athlete himself, is O'Connor's primary coach, with Tom Reynolds also involved. The father-daughter duo captured hearts and minds in a beautiful interview with RTÉ after Europeans, the emotion, pride and love shining through with each and every word. The dynamic is a unique one, with plenty of ups and downs, but it works well. 'I think the best thing about having my dad as my coach is that I have someone that's 100% in my corner. Through the highs and lows, I know that he's 100% there for me, and he wants what's best for me. In any decision making, in any problems, I can go to him, and I know that we're going to come to something that he believes is the right decision and I'm obviously going to believe it's the right decision too.' 'A father-daughter relationship, especially in sports, obviously comes with highs and lows. Sometimes arguments can be brought back home,' she adds, though the midweek move to Belfast for college has hugely helped. 'We have a little bit more space, and I think our relationship is just so much better now, partly probably because I'm older. Our communication style is a lot better too. 'But in saying that, it's not a normal father-daughter relationship. My dad and my brother could head off to pub together, our craic is different where it's kind of difficult to turn off that coach-athlete relationship… although, he is my dad, obviously, and it is different at home, he is more of a dad, I can always sense that coach kind of vibe lurking around. 'But no, we get on very, very well. I love having him as a coach. We get to travel the world together. We get to do so many exciting things together. It's pretty cool.' It's not the only personal relationship into which sport often seeps: O'Connor's boyfriend is footballer Georgie Kelly. Formerly of Dundalk and Bohemians in the League of Ireland, the Donegal striker is currently on the books of Carlisle United, who have been relegated to the English National League. 'She's a killer and I admire so much about what she does,' Kelly recently told The Irish Independent. Georgie Kelly during his time with Bohemians in 2021. Bryan Keane / INPHO Bryan Keane / INPHO / INPHO O'Connor picks up: 'In way that we probably don't realise, we probably help each other when it comes to sport. 'Georgie is very, very different to me. He's very chilled. He's a real thinker, whereas I'm maybe a little bit more rash. If something bad happens, I'm like, 'Ah, everything's gonna end!' He's a really good sounding board for me. 'I can just talk through things, and he can help me rationalise things. He understands whenever I have frustrations, he can also understand successes and the whirlwind that life can throw at you after either or. It's great to have him around, he's another huge support.' The buzz and excitement around Irish athletics is undeniable at the moment, and O'Connor is delighted to be at the heart of it. With Rhasidat Adeleke, Mark English, Sarah Healy and Sharlene Mawdsley among the others flying the flag on the biggest stages week on week, the profile and interest levels are ever rising. O'Connor is blazing a trail with multi-discipline representation, for which she is a huge advocate. Her passion is palpable as she speaks about combined events; how it aids the development of aspiring athletes, and how the story grips people as it unfolds on competition days. 'I love multi events. I love the training for it. I love the fact that there's something new every day,' she beams. 'I'm not 100% perfect at everything. I'm not scratching for those 1%s just yet, I'm still making a lot of changes and getting a lot of rewards. 'It's a beautiful event that I love deeply. Hopefully there'll be a little bit more of a pick-up with young people in Ireland. Watching someone win a couple of medals will hopefully inspire a few others to get involved.' With World Championships in Tokyo in September the major focus now, O'Connor will hope to continue breaking new ground. She's currently ranked ninth so nailed on to qualify, and preparations will ramp up through the summer. O'Connor celebrating after a huge shot putt at worlds. Nikola Krstic / INPHO Nikola Krstic / INPHO / INPHO Finishing her dissertation is almost another event thrown in, she laughs, and an overseas training camp beckons before World University Games in Germany in July. She'll compete more in August, while aiming to stay fit and healthy, enjoy athletics and all the madness that now comes with it: BBC ads, role model status, and the likes. 'It's definitely different, and something that I'm still probably getting used to. But it's lovely,' O'Connor concludes. 'You put in so much hard work on the track, and it's nice to get recognition outside of that, and for people to come up and say that I've inspired them, or I've inspired their daughter or their son or whoever it is. 'Athletics especially is such an individual sport, you're by yourself a lot and when you're competing, it's all for you. When you realise the knock-on effect that it can have on other people, that kind of just makes it even that little bit more worth it. 'It's something I probably won't really realise until I've retired or finished with sport, the effect that it will have — and hopefully the long lasting effect. Hopefully there'll be lots more that will happen over the next couple years.' **** Kate O'Connor teamed up with McCabes Pharmacy to launch the McCabes Pharmacy Fit for Life programme. To join the McCabes Pharmacy Fit for Life Programme or to find your nearest participating club, visit and for more information on McCabes Pharmacy, visit
The Journal
6 days ago
- Sport
- The Journal
Dublin earn nervy win, Galway secure preliminary quarter-final place
The 42 The 42 is the home of quality journalism for passionate Irish sports fans, bringing you closer to the stories that matter through insightful analysis and sharp sportswriting. Dublin 0-22 Derry 0-20 DUBLIN EARNED A nervy 0-22 to 0-20 win over Derry at Pairc Esler today. Advertisement The result means Dessie Farrell's men secure a home draw for next weekend's preliminary quarter-final of the All-Ireland football championship, while Derry exit the championship. Galway 2-22 Armagh 0-27 Galway came from eight points down at half-time to score an after-hooter winner over defending All-Ireland champions Armagh and seal a preliminary quarter-final place. Armagh had already secured their passage into the last eight, but still came close to pulling off a victory The 42 Subscribers can read the full match reports here and here (€) The 42′s award-winning team produces original content that you won't find anywhere else: on GAA, League of Ireland, women's sport and boxing, as well as our game-changing rugby coverage, all with an Irish eye.
