McCullough - Martinez fight could be off!

Grehan123 · Post by **Grehan123** » 30 Nov 2007, 13:08

bmc wrote:
Grehan123 wrote:I am gutted!!!! I am ringing the Kings Hall at 6.00pm to find out what the situation is regarding the event....
Absolutely gutted!
Two big fights in two days down the pan!
Do we get reimbursed for our tickets if its just the Martinez fight off? or is the whole show off?

As soon as I find out shortly after 6, I will let you know

SticknMove · Post by **SticknMove** » 30 Nov 2007, 13:13

I understand the disappointment of the fans - it's a real pisser. But the fault lays at Martinez' door not McCulloughs. If he, as I am sure he probably was, contracted to fight at 122lbs then he should made that weight. McCullough came in 2lbs under, right? There can be no excuses for Martinez especially when he has 24 hrs to rehydrate himself. Smacks of trying to gain an unfair advantage. I bet he turns up on the SBW limit when his belt is on the line.

Grehan123 · Post by **Grehan123** » 30 Nov 2007, 13:30

SticknMove wrote:I understand the disappointment of the fans - it's a real pisser. But the fault lays at Martinez' door not McCulloughs. If he, as I am sure he probably was, contracted to fight at 122lbs then he should made that weight. McCullough came in 2lbs under, right? There can be no excuses for Martinez especially when he has 24 hrs to rehydrate himself. Smacks of trying to gain an unfair advantage. I bet he turns up on the SBW limit when his belt is on the line.

I totally agree...I am not blaming wayne for anything. Its certainly not his fault that Martinez didnt make the weight....I am just really disappointed and I was really looking forward to seeing Wayne

steve689 · Post by **steve689** » 30 Nov 2007, 14:08

So let me get this straight...is this big 6pm announcement tonight? Surely they aren't going to have everyone trawl up to the King's Hall and then say at 6pm tomorrow night are they?

EDIT: Sorry you are ringing the Hall at 6, i thought they were announcing something. Fingers crossed a compromise can be reached.

Grehan123 · Post by **Grehan123** » 30 Nov 2007, 14:27

steve689 wrote:So let me get this straight...is this big 6pm announcement tonight? Surely they aren't going to have everyone trawl up to the King's Hall and then say at 6pm tomorrow night are they?

EDIT: Sorry you are ringing the Hall at 6, i thought they were announcing something. Fingers crossed a compromise can be reached.

Wayne was on UTV just there........the fight is definitely defintely off!!!Also, I just rang the Kings Hall, and they said that the whole show is cancelled!!!

REAL_DEAL · Post by **REAL_DEAL** » 30 Nov 2007, 14:42

gutted i just flown over to belfast from southampton to learn this news. Still can make a weekend off it.

Max Molyneux · Post by **Max Molyneux** » 30 Nov 2007, 14:47

SticknMove wrote:I understand the disappointment of the fans - it's a real pisser. But the fault lays at Martinez' door not McCulloughs. If he, as I am sure he probably was, contracted to fight at 122lbs then he should made that weight. McCullough came in 2lbs under, right? There can be no excuses for Martinez especially when he has 24 hrs to rehydrate himself. Smacks of trying to gain an unfair advantage. I bet he turns up on the SBW limit when his belt is on the line.

How Is 24 hrs enough to rehydrate fully though?

Martinez Is a stock guy though for 8st 10.

ogradyclann · Post by **ogradyclann** » 30 Nov 2007, 15:26

DEVESTATED... and I'm wasn't even going :-(

Cannibal · Post by **Cannibal** » 30 Nov 2007, 15:30

No chance of arranging McCullough Vs Bernard Dunne at the last minute is there?

SticknMove · Post by **SticknMove** » 30 Nov 2007, 15:31

Max Molyneux wrote:
SticknMove wrote:I understand the disappointment of the fans - it's a real pisser. But the fault lays at Martinez' door not McCulloughs. If he, as I am sure he probably was, contracted to fight at 122lbs then he should made that weight. McCullough came in 2lbs under, right? There can be no excuses for Martinez especially when he has 24 hrs to rehydrate himself. Smacks of trying to gain an unfair advantage. I bet he turns up on the SBW limit when his belt is on the line.
How Is 24 hrs enough to rehydrate fully though?

Martinez Is a stock guy though for 8st 10.

I can't see how your question/post is directly relevant to my post.

Whether 24hrs is enough for any fighter to rehydrate FULLY is another tangential topic. The fact is Martinez contracted to fight at a weight where he holds a belt and didn’t meet the requirement. Therefore he and his camp are to blame for this fight not going ahead.

If he can’t make weight limit and rehydrate adequately then he shouldn’t contract to fight there, and move up. He’s a young guy so perhaps this is the case. But if he defends his belt at this weight in his next fight, then this whole affair stinks of Martinez and his camp trying to pull a stroke and gain an added advantage.

Max Molyneux · Post by **Max Molyneux** » 30 Nov 2007, 15:37

McCullough Is saved from more brain damage anyway.

2lbs Is no advantage If he's struggling and Wayne should know that being a qualified fitness coach.

Martinez might of known he couldn't shift the weight at the time of the contract.

Shirow · Post by **Shirow** » 30 Nov 2007, 15:38

Seems odd that Wayne would not fight for an extra bung after 2.5 years out considering his fearlessness. He stood up to a Scott Harrison shellacking years ago.

All things considered - first purse in ages, in his hometown, an unwarranted shot at a suddenly hot fighter who may not have trained too well, extra cash bonus (i presume). I'm very surprised he didn't go for it.

I wonder if there is more to this story.

Horse · Post by **Horse** » 30 Nov 2007, 15:43

Max Molyneux wrote:McCullough Is saved from more brain damage anyway.

Classy.

Max Molyneux wrote:2lbs Is no advantage If he's struggling and Wayne should know that being a qualified fitness coach.

2lbs is an advantage.

Max Molyneux wrote:Martinez might of known he couldn't shift the weight at the time of the contract.

So, you are saying that he might have planned this? If you think that is the case, then why are you defending Martinez?

silkov · Post by **silkov** » 30 Nov 2007, 15:45

I think there is more to this than we know, ...for one thing why did Martinez have to make the 122 limit if it wasnt a title fight??.... that in itself is a bit odd, ...and Wayne not willing to fight him after hes been fighting all these full blown featherweights these last few years?....
And why was Wayne having a row with a journalist??.....

steve689 · Post by **steve689** » 30 Nov 2007, 15:45

I'm thinking the same Shirow. McCullough always prides himself on being a warrior, he is offered more cash and Martinez is only 1.5 pounds over the limit (hardly a striking advantage).

On the flip side Martinez must have known he was struggling and was over at the time he attended a press conference last week, gave a question and answer session at the Holiday Inn and came for today's weigh in. Yet it never got leaked or was even mentioned he might be overweight. It's all very strange, a farcical sequence of events.

Max Molyneux · Post by **Max Molyneux** » 30 Nov 2007, 15:45

2lbs Is no advantage, It's not like 5lbs or he was half a stone over the weight. If he's knackered making the weight, It won't be an advantage either.

So, you are saying that he might have planned this? If you think that is the case, then why are you defending Martinez?

I meant to add not known by mistake sorry.

Grehan123 · Post by **Grehan123** » 30 Nov 2007, 16:05

silkov wrote:I think there is more to this than we know, ...for one thing why did Martinez have to make the 122 limit if it wasnt a title fight??.... that in itself is a bit odd, ...and Wayne not willing to fight him after hes been fighting all these full blown featherweights these last few years?....
And why was Wayne having a row with a journalist??.....

He was having a row with a journalist because the journalist said that it was unprofessional for Wayne to be 2lbs under the limit!!!!From the TV footage that I have seen...you could already tell that Martinez knew something was not right before he stepped on the scales!!

Coco · Post by **Coco** » 30 Nov 2007, 16:07

If he has to kill himself to make 122 but is comfortable enough at 124 it is a big advantage
2lbs at the lighter weights is a big advantage, ounces are difficult to shift if u have dried rite out
If it was that easy to do he would have taken it off

BigEars · Post by **BigEars** » 30 Nov 2007, 16:37

I'm very surprised there was no fighter on standbye , someone like Marc Callaghan would of been ideal.........although I think he is medically suspended for the month after being stopped by Munroe .

Fat Gav · Post by **Fat Gav** » 30 Nov 2007, 16:52

Cannibal wrote:No chance of arranging McCullough Vs Bernard Dunne at the last minute is there?

no chance. dunne is still knackered after his fight on monday night.

he made a very low key return to boxing, against an opponent even he could handle.

there's video of it online

go here and click on the 'david mcwilliams' interview

the 'fight' begins at about 1:20 in.....

SticknMove · Post by **SticknMove** » 30 Nov 2007, 16:57

Coco wrote:If he has to kill himself to make 122 but is comfortable enough at 124 it is a big advantage
2lbs at the lighter weights is a big advantage, ounces are difficult to shift if u have dried rite out
If it was that easy to do he would have taken it off

Exactly mate.

Martinez could be 5 lbs over the limit and still be in the shape of his life. At the lighter weights it is not about how hard you have trained for a fight, but how a fighter can shift those last couple of pounds to make the limit. That is what makes the game so tough, especially at the very top level. My suspicion is that Martinez and his camp knew that there was no belt on the line therefore no need to go through the added physical torture and mental anxiety, thinking that McCullough would take the fight anyway.

McCullough probably took this fight to be a non title Title fight at SBW (if that makes sense) and trained accordingly, hoping a win will put him back in the mix. Given that he was 2lbs inside the limit he may have felt completely drained and, seeing that Martinez came in 2lbs over the limit, thought that his camp were pulling a stroke and not operating on a level playing field.

I could be completely wrong but it’s just my take. Or, perhaps Martinez really can't make SBW anymore. Time will tell.

BigEars · Post by **BigEars** » 30 Nov 2007, 18:01

SticknMove wrote:
Coco wrote:If he has to kill himself to make 122 but is comfortable enough at 124 it is a big advantage
2lbs at the lighter weights is a big advantage, ounces are difficult to shift if u have dried rite out
If it was that easy to do he would have taken it off
Exactly mate.

Martinez could be 5 lbs over the limit and still be in the shape of his life. At the lighter weights it is not about how hard you have trained for a fight, but how a fighter can shift those last couple of pounds to make the limit. That is what makes the game so tough, especially at the very top level. My suspicion is that Martinez and his camp knew that there was no belt on the line therefore no need to go through the added physical torture and mental anxiety, thinking that McCullough would take the fight anyway.

McCullough probably took this fight to be a non title Title fight at SBW (if that makes sense) and trained accordingly, hoping a win will put him back in the mix. Given that he was 2lbs inside the limit he may have felt completely drained and, seeing that Martinez came in 2lbs over the limit, thought that his camp were pulling a stroke and not operating on a level playing field.

I could be completely wrong but it’s just my take. Or, perhaps Martinez really can't make SBW anymore. Time will tell.

The fight was actually made at 124 lbs , McCullough came in 2 lbs inside the Super Bantamweight limit of 122 lbs(so he was 120 lbs) and Martinez came in 1 3/4 lbs over the fight limit so he was 125 3/4

http://www.rte.ie/sport/boxing/2007/113 ... oughw.html

It only mentions the fight weight and Martinez's there but I have been hearing from fairly reliable sources that it was the Super Bantamweight limit and not the fight limit that McCullough was 2 lbs under .

SticknMove · Post by **SticknMove** » 30 Nov 2007, 18:25

BigEars wrote:
SticknMove wrote:
Coco wrote:If he has to kill himself to make 122 but is comfortable enough at 124 it is a big advantage
2lbs at the lighter weights is a big advantage, ounces are difficult to shift if u have dried rite out
If it was that easy to do he would have taken it off
Exactly mate.

Martinez could be 5 lbs over the limit and still be in the shape of his life. At the lighter weights it is not about how hard you have trained for a fight, but how a fighter can shift those last couple of pounds to make the limit. That is what makes the game so tough, especially at the very top level. My suspicion is that Martinez and his camp knew that there was no belt on the line therefore no need to go through the added physical torture and mental anxiety, thinking that McCullough would take the fight anyway.

McCullough probably took this fight to be a non title Title fight at SBW (if that makes sense) and trained accordingly, hoping a win will put him back in the mix. Given that he was 2lbs inside the limit he may have felt completely drained and, seeing that Martinez came in 2lbs over the limit, thought that his camp were pulling a stroke and not operating on a level playing field.

I could be completely wrong but it’s just my take. Or, perhaps Martinez really can't make SBW anymore. Time will tell.
The fight was actually made at 124 lbs , McCullough came in 2 lbs inside the Super Bantamweight limit of 122 lbs(so he was 120 lbs) and Martinez came in 1 3/4 lbs over the fight limit so he was 125 3/4

http://www.rte.ie/sport/boxing/2007/113 ... oughw.html

It only mentions the fight weight and Martinez's there but I have been hearing from fairly reliable sources that it was the Super Bantamweight limit and not the fight limit that McCullough was 2 lbs under .

Well if that's the case and the 8' 12 limit was where this fight was contracted at (as reported - sometimes newsarticles do not always get exact) then I will have to take everything I posted back. No wonder the journo questioned McCullough over coming in 4lbs below the contracted fight limit if that was the case The whole situation stinks - and the fans lose out again. This game can be utterly disgraceful at times.

Hagler2002 · Post by **Hagler2002** » 30 Nov 2007, 18:31

REAL_DEAL wrote:gutted i just flown over to belfast from southampton to learn this news. Still can make a weekend off it.

There is plenty gay bars in Belfast you will be fine

E · Post by E » 30 Nov 2007, 20:18

This was a really interesting fight..... gutted