February 17, 2011
By Staff Reporter
The scheduled 12-round contest at the Palace Indian Gaming Center was confirmed just two weeks ago, short notice by modern standards considering that fighters on average hold ten-week training camps for world championship matches.
Roach, however, declared that the 34 year-old McCullough was in tip-top shape three weeks before his third bid for the WBC’s 122-pound crown.
“He trained hard in Las Vegas before coming here, so his conditioning is not a factor,” the respected trainer said after putting his charge through a tough workout at the Wild Card Gym in Santa Monica.
“We jumped straight into the strategy phase of our preparations.”
That includes sparring sessions with a variety of fighters, among them this week vaunted Filipino featherweight Manny Pacquaio who is also trained by Roach.
“Wayne is getting sharper and sharper,” Roach observed. “His combination punching is much better than when he started (sparring), and we’ve been working on his left hook. That’s the punch he’ll really use well in this fight.”
“He wants me to double and treble the left hook. I’ve always had a good left hook, the only problem is that I never use it much,” said McCullough.
Pleased as he is with their build up, Roach was quick to admit the challenge McCullough faces against the busy Larios, a 28 year-old with a 54-3-1 (35 KOs) record.
“We’re in tough,” he conceded. “The opponent will be in Wayne’s face all night.
“In a perfect world, I’d have loved us to have another tune-up or two. But we got a title shot and took it. We’ll (try) our best.”
McCullough, whose only fight in nearly two years was a second-round stoppage of Mike Juarez last September, said the bespectacled Roach had drawn up a good fight plan, which he should execute well.
“Oscar’s in-your-face style suits me perfectly. I like it when guys come at me and try to fight me at my pace,” he remarked.
On the sparring he’s been getting, the former WBC bantamweight champ said he was wearing out partners after two rounds.
“I’m sparring at a tremendous pace and they can’t seem to keep the pace. I’m also practicing a lot of body shots.”
Ranked eighth in the featherweight division by the WBC, McCullough (27-4, 18 KOs), is dropping four pounds to challenge Larios, who’s held the 122-pound title since November 2002. His previous attempts at the super bantamweight crown ended in defeat by the hands of Larios’ fellow Mexicans, Daniel Zaragoza and Erik Morales.
The McCullough-Larios fight will be televised live by the Fox Sports Network’s “Best Damn Sports Show, Period,” hosted by actor Tom Arnold and former basketball star John Salley.
Tickets are priced at $400 VIP ringside; $125 ringside; $65 reserved; $50 general admission. They are available from the Palace Indian Gaming Center Gift Shop at 1-866-4-PALACE or through any tickets.com outlet, including the Internet at www.tickets.com.
O’MALLEY CONFIDENT
One fighter giving McCullough a shot against Larios is Martin O’Malley, who faces his own moment of truth against Rafael Ortiz at the Lucky Eagle Casino in Rochester, Washington this Friday night.
“Oscar’s a tall and busy fighter who throws a lot of punches. But if Wayne stays on top of him, he can beat him,” O’Malley said.
The 29 year-old O’Malley returns to action after a nine-month layoff to dispute the obscure North Western Boxing Association junior welterweight title over ten rounds with Ortiz, who boasts a 9-5-1 record with all his victories coming by knockout.
“The guy can definitely punch, so I’ve got to avoid getting caught. It’s a risky fight but I have the confidence to win,” said O’Malley, 21-3-1 (14 KOs) in the pro ranks.
Coming off a second-round loss to Juan Diaz last April, in the young star’s last bout before he lifted the World Boxing Association (WBA) belt three months later, O’Malley was reluctant to call the Ortiz match a “must-win affair,” even while suggesting that defeat was not an option.
“I hate to say ‘must-win’ but I’m at a stage when I must win every fight,” the Co. Wicklow-bred pugilist stated.
“I have all the ability and having seen Ortiz fight, I’m confident I can beat him. I see this fight as a set up to better things. I’m in shape and looking forward to it.”
O’Malley confessed that his 10th round stoppage by Romanian Leo Dorin in Atlantic City three and a half years ago — the first loss of his career — had shattered his confidence, which has since been restored.
DUDDY’S TEXAN FOE
There’s yet another change of opponent for middleweight sensation John Duddy, who headlines the Feb. 4 card at the Westchester County Center in White Plains.
Larry Vaughan, an 8-1-1 (4 KO’s) super middleweight out of Houston, replaces Tampa’s Oscar Gonzalez, who had earlier replaced Chris Troupe of Atlanta in the scheduled eight-rounder.
“This one won’t back out,” vowed match-matcher Jim Borzell. “He’s signed the contract.”
Eddie McLoughlin, one of the undefeated Duddy’s handlers, expects the 34 year-old Vaughan to offer some resistance before capitulating in the late rounds to the Derry Destroyer.
“It will be a test and will definitely go past four rounds. But I think John takes out him six or seven rounds,” predicted McLoughlin.
Duddy, who is 25, was his usual unfazed self when he heard of the latest change. “I’m just ready for eight hard rounds,” he offered.
The show will mark the debut of McLoughlin’s Irish Ropes Promotions. The outfit is co-promoting the event with Northeast Promotions.