‘My sister died on vacation – I hear her voice in my head telling me to maintain preventing’

Barnsley boxer Callum Simpson has dealt with heartbreaking family tragedy but sister is now an inspiration on the tough days as he looks to make sure she is forever remembered

Callum Simpson has had his toughest fight and nothing in the ring will ever come close.

But it has only added to his motivation to reach the top of the sport after his family went through the trauma of losing his sister, Lily-Rae.

Simpson, 28, returns to the ring on Saturday in Sheffield against Steed Woodall in a British and Commonwealth super-middleweight title defence.

The Barnsley boxer is back after he won the titles at Oakwell by beating Zak Chelli in August but his family’s lives changed forever in that month, too.

Lily-Rae Simpson, 19, was at the home of Barnsley Football Club that night cheering on her brother but just weeks later lost her life after a quad-bike accident in Zante.

She fought for 10 days in ICU in an Athens hospital but didn’t make it after complications in an operation to leave the family heartbroken.

“No fight I have will ever be as hard as the mental fight and the emotional fight that my family has been through and the fight Lily tried to go through when she was in hospital,” said Simpson.

“You never expect it, you see it but you never expect it to happen to your family.

“Life comes at you quick, from triumph to tragedy in two or three weeks. It was from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows. You think something can’t happen.

“Life is too short to be hanging around and not trying to fulfil your dreams. I wanted to make her proud when she was alive and I’ll continue to do that now she’s passed away.”

In an emotional interview this week with Sky Sports, Callum, his dad and younger brother, Lennon, and sister, Nancy, spoke so warmly about Lily-Rae.

It was a remarkable show of courage for the family to speak so openly.

“Their strength is unbelievable,” said Callum. “If my little brother and sister can show that strength then the least I can do is the same.”

Simpson will pay tribute to his late sister tonight with her name on his shorts. He knows he has to continue with his career not only for her but himself.

“I’ve always wanted to do the best I can in the sport and go to the very top, I don’t want to say I’m going to become world champion for Lily but I want to do that regardless,” he said.

“There’s been a few training sessions when I’ve had to dig deep and I feel like I’ve heard her voice in my head and that’s helped me to keep pushing, she tells me to keep going and pushing on.”

For Simpson pushing on is win on Saturday night, another fight at Oakwell in the summer and then world titles. You can’t write him off after the personal battle he has been through.

In the chief support, Caroline Dubois defends her WBC lightweight title for the first time against Jessica Camara.

Callum Simpson v Steed Woodall is live on Sky Sports Main Event on Saturday night from 7:30pm