BoxRec

I've just read a report on Fightnews that Wayne McCullough could be in line for a title shot against Daniel Ponce De Leon.

I hope this match doesn't come off, Ponce De Leon is a hard accurate puncher with a good chin, i can't see anything but a steady beating here for Wayne

He's been making Super bantam for far too long as well.

Terence wrote:I did a telephone interview with Wayne and boy does he sound like a focussed hard SOB. I was scared when he told me off at one point. He did say he would build it up slowly again and take on a few "easy" fights. Is this his idea of an easy fight?! Scary-brave but you have to admire his single-minded approach.

His book is interesting also BTW. I'd like to see him working as a trainer or behind the scenes as he is obviously dedicated to the sport.

His manager Cherly shud be looking out for her husband/charge. Why can everyone but that pair see that he shud hang em up.

She must be one hard, cold woman!

Wayne is one of the hardest trainers in the sport, he is always in the gym, so i don't know if making Super bantam would be a huge problem.
What is concerning to me is the fact that Wayne doesn't dodge punches like he used to, and Ponce de Leon is a bit like Scott Harrison , big for the wieght.

I'd say Ponce De Leon is a bigger puncher than Harrison or larios.

It's sad to say, but it seems almost inevitable that Wayne won't call a halt until he gets the shit badly beaten out of him. I mean, he seems delusional, getting stopped by Larios wasn't enough, he has to blame the ref despite the fact he was losing the fight by miles, and was taking needless punishment in a fight he had little or no chance of winning.

Hopefully this referee will do the same if he sees that Wayne is just taking punishment with no hope of winning, but I reckon it will take Wayne getting smashed unconscious or suffering from serious neurological damage for him to quit.

What is alarming is that Wayne doesn't seem to be prepared to even try and do anything different to win, he just wades in there with both hands rarely attempting to block shots with anything other than his head. He's consistently facing off against bigger punchers and hasn't been landing hard enough to hurt anyone with real pedigree since he moved up from Bantamweight.

Wayne McCullough doesnt have any sort of punch. He throws lots of arm punches but this does little to dissuade his opponents from walking straight through them. At bantamweight, with his youthful speed McCullough could punch fairly decently. And the fact that there werent many punchers at that weight meant risk of damage was minimal.

However, since returning from that long layoff (the "failed" brain-scan), Wayne's punches really look lazy and dont have any sort of snap. At Super-bantam there are some heavy handed fellas that will make you pay if you cant keep them off.

jamesmcdonnell wrote:It's sad to say, but it seems almost inevitable that Wayne won't call a halt until he gets the shit badly beaten out of him.

I thought Scott Harrison did that.

The Irish hardman might have kept coming all night, but watching Harrison unload on him was painful towards the end.

He reminds me sadly of Ali and Holyfield, unable to accept that he has lost his ability or that he is getting hurt... I found the last Larios fight truly frightening, I'm sure that if Wayne hadn't been pulled out he would have got badly hurt that night!. What astonishes me is how he keeps getting these title fights, surely he wouldn't be so eager to carry on if he wasn't being offered big fights. When was the last time he beat a rated fighter?. Promoters don't seem to care that Wayne is an accident waiting to happen....

Well he didn't blame the ref, he blamed the doctor and it was the doctor. Although Wayne had taken a lot of shots there was no visible reason for the fight to be stopped because McCullough never gives a reason for it to be stopped. He was coherent, eyes still focused and still throwing back punches every time Larios landed. In his book he also said that Larios's punching power didn't bother him much and rated him as a light puncher.

He has faded past world class level so he should stay away from world class fights if he plans to continue but he could still be a good gate keeper to world class type fighter. If he wants a good send off fight how about him Vs Bernard Dunne in Ireland?

Cannibal wrote: Although Wayne had taken a lot of shots there was no visible reason for the fight to be stopped because McCullough never gives a reason for it to be stopped. He was coherent, eyes still focused and still throwing back punches every time Larios landed.

McCullough was not competitive in that fight - he never ever looked like winning that fight. He may well have thrown a punch right back at Larios each time, but when Larios landed McCullough's head was getting snapped back, whereas when Wayne landed Larios just walked straight through it.

Cannibal wrote:In his book he also said that Larios's punching power didn't bother him much and rated him as a light puncher.

Its called denial. And unfortunately is a common theme amongst many faded sports stars who hang around too long. The fact that Wayne McCullough is so tough and can eat punches for fun doesnt justify the fact that he is still fighting.

Kind of hard to deny a punch to the face.

No, I don't think Wayne had any chance of winning the fight but that doesn't mean that every fight that a fighter wins 6 rounds should be stopped. Wayne wanted to go the distance and when he was told in his corner that he wasn't doing enough and they would pull him out he upped his performance and actually made it more competitive right befor ehe was pulled out. I'm not arguing that he had a chance of winning but I am saying that there was no visible effects from Larios's punches on McCullough to have the fight stopped.

I've seen a lot worse where the gulf in class was greater where you have those up and coming prospects beating up on a guy there for his pay day for 12 rounds and they don't even throw back.

Cannibal wrote:Kind of hard to deny a punch to the face.

No, I don't think Wayne had any chance of winning the fight but that doesn't mean that every fight that a fighter wins 6 rounds should be stopped. Wayne wanted to go the distance and when he was told in his corner that he wasn't doing enough and they would pull him out he upped his performance and actually made it more competitive right befor ehe was pulled out. I'm not arguing that he had a chance of winning but I am saying that there was no visible effects from Larios's punches on McCullough to have the fight stopped.

I've seen a lot worse where the gulf in class was greater where you have those up and coming prospects beating up on a guy there for his pay day for 12 rounds and they don't even throw back.

I've never seen a worse case where a fighter is having his head banged around like a punch bag. The scariest thing about Wayne for me is that I think that he is literally willing to fight to the end, and if the people around him in a fight are not careful that could happen. He's a prime example of a fighter who needs protecting from himself...

I agree that he should retire but I don't think he is in danger as long as he chooses the right level to box at. He is obviously not world class and if he insists on fighting should do it against the up and coming talent, the Michael Hunters and Bernard Dunnes of the world.

He is faded but that chin, sheer work rate and throwing 100 punches a round will still get you results, just not at world class where he is likely to take a beating.

Cannibal wrote:I agree that he should retire but I don't think he is in danger as long as he chooses the right level to box at. He is obviously not world class and if he insists on fighting should do it against the up and coming talent, the Michael Hunters and Bernard Dunnes of the world.

He is faded but that chin, sheer work rate and throwing 100 punches a round will still get you results, just not at world class where he is likely to take a beating.

Yeah, but its that chin that will be his undoing... look at Ali...

Cannibal wrote:I agree that he should retire but I don't think he is in danger as long as he chooses the right level to box at. He is obviously not world class and if he insists on fighting should do it against the up and coming talent, the Michael Hunters and Bernard Dunnes of the world.

He is faded but that chin, sheer work rate and throwing 100 punches a round will still get you results, just not at world class where he is likely to take a beating.

therein lies the problem, McCulloch is only interested in world title level fights it seems, and he keeps on getting them, because they are relatively low risk for the champions, but McCulloch is a good name and makes them look good by absorbing terrific volumes of punches.

If Wayne were to drop down a level he could actually win a few, but he is becoming a world class opponent and is taking unneccesary levels of punishment.

Also Wayne has said that he spars 10 rounds a day, that has got to add to the wear and tear

I know their not renowned for their intelligence, but over on the current scene they seem to be picking Wayne's workrate over De Leon's power

liamlion wrote:

Cannibal wrote: Although Wayne had taken a lot of shots there was no visible reason for the fight to be stopped because McCullough never gives a reason for it to be stopped. He was coherent, eyes still focused and still throwing back punches every time Larios landed.

McCullough was not competitive in that fight - he never ever looked like winning that fight. He may well have thrown a punch right back at Larios each time, but when Larios landed McCullough's head was getting snapped back, whereas when Wayne landed Larios just walked straight through it.

Cannibal wrote:In his book he also said that Larios's punching power didn't bother him much and rated him as a light puncher.

Its called denial. And unfortunately is a common theme amongst many faded sports stars who hang around too long. The fact that Wayne McCullough is so tough and can eat punches for fun doesnt justify the fact that he is still fighting.

Liamlion.

Early on in the rematch, Wayne was very competitive. Even, might have hurt Larios (not in trouble but backed him up) very early. At one stage Watt was chomping at the bit because it was looking very good for Wayne around the 5th.

Then, Larios stepped it up.

stujones wrote:

liamlion wrote:

Cannibal wrote: Although Wayne had taken a lot of shots there was no visible reason for the fight to be stopped because McCullough never gives a reason for it to be stopped. He was coherent, eyes still focused and still throwing back punches every time Larios landed.

McCullough was not competitive in that fight - he never ever looked like winning that fight. He may well have thrown a punch right back at Larios each time, but when Larios landed McCullough's head was getting snapped back, whereas when Wayne landed Larios just walked straight through it.

Cannibal wrote:In his book he also said that Larios's punching power didn't bother him much and rated him as a light puncher.

Its called denial. And unfortunately is a common theme amongst many faded sports stars who hang around too long. The fact that Wayne McCullough is so tough and can eat punches for fun doesnt justify the fact that he is still fighting.

Liamlion.

Early on in the rematch, Wayne was very competitive. Even, might have hurt Larios (not in trouble but backed him up) very early. At one stage Watt was chomping at the bit because it was looking very good for Wayne around the 5th.

Then, Larios stepped it up.

I thought it was pretty one-sided all the way through and by the middle of the fight Watt and Darke seemed as disturbed as I was by the amount of punches Wayne was taking.

It wasn't one sided all the way through but it was a swift and noticeable turn around

Cannibal wrote:It wasn't one sided all the way through but it was a swift and noticeable turn around

At no point did Wayne do as well in the second fight as he did in the first... he was competitive for about 5 rounds but after that was taking a beating. He couldnt seem to let his hands go... a common problem for fading fighters...