The sculpture and its unveiling is a fitting tribute to the memory of a lovely, unassuming, understated man who passed away back in 2001 but whose memory lives on in Shotton Colliery. “Maurice was such a well-liked man in the community and achieved so much that I wanted to do something to acknowledge that,”said Eunice Huntington, a local councillor who was instrumental in raising the £10,000 it cost for the memorial.
Sadly, Maurice is best remembered in boxing circles for losing to Ken Buchanan but he caught Buchanan with relative ease at times and the loss was considered an upset at the time which tells you everything you need to know about Cullen's ability and reputation, and the man could really box and was an outstanding British champion who cruised to a Lonsdale Belt outright and went 10 hard rounds with undisputed world lightweight champion Carlos Ortiz in a non-title affair in London. Make no mistake about it, the boy done well.
Talking of boy, Maurice looked for all the world like the village weed but looks are truly deceptive. As an amateur he suffered recurring injuries to his right hand so he worked on the jab until it was good enough to win fights on its own (shades of Freddie Welsh) which earned him the derisory nickname of “one-armed bandit” among British fight fans, most of whom dreaded his appearances because Cullen was never a crowdpleaser, jabbing and staying out of trouble as he did - only his fans in the North East ever really appreciated him. Nevertheless, Cullen jabbed the ears off Dave Coventry for the vacant British lightweight title in Liverpool in 1965 and did the same to Hoxton's rugged Vic Andreeti (twice) and Terry Edwards in subsequent defences, although Andreeti made it hard across 30 long rounds. As for Edwards, Cullen actually finished him in the fifth round with a right hand, prompting his manager Arthur Boggis to crack, “It proves his right hand isn't just for scratching his arse.”
Cullen had another, more secret, weapon. He possessed almost limitless stamina due to an abnormally slow heart rate, a condition known as Bradycardia, and could jab and move for 15 rounds virtually on a whim and that's what he did over and over again, even with the tigerish Dave Charnley in a first unsuccessful crack at the British lightweight title in Manchester in 1963 (and believe me, 15 rounds with Charnley was 15 rounds with Joe Frazier). Two fights later, Cullen went in with Ortiz at Wembley and made it uncomfortably close for the gifted Puerto Rican, who pulled out a last-round knockdown to make sure of the decision. Fellow fighter and later top trainer George Bowes said: “I was convinced he'd done enough to win it but you had to beat a world champion clearly to get the decision.”
It was Cullen's only brush with fame and fortune, although he did box at Madison Square Garden late in his career, scoring a 10-round decision over local man Mike Cruz, but otherwise his style restricted him to the domestic lightweight scene which he dominated after Charnley retired in 1964 up to the night he faced the young, unbeaten Buchanan in 1968, who was able to outjab him (eventually) and then nail him with the right hand. Cullen was halted in round 11 but may have hung on to lose on points today and looked on as the brilliant Scot lifted the world lightweight title two years later in the blazing heat of Puerto Rico.
Cullen retired soon after the defeat, one of just eight defeats in 55 fights and his victims included Bunny Grant, Borge Krogh, Guy Gracia, Rafiu King, Johnny Cooke, Joe Tetteh and Angel Robinson Garcia (monsters, all of them).
His widow, Joan, was at the unveiling.
