February 17, 2011
By Staff Reporter
McCullough confirmed the fight last Thursday, shortly after the 28-year-old champion signed the contract for the scheduled 12-round contest outside Fresno.
The fight will be televised live by the Fox Sports Network’s “Best Damn Sports Show, Period,” hosted by actor Tom Arnold and former pro basketball star John Salley.
“It’s been in the works,” McCullough said. “I signed last week but was told to keep quiet by [promoter Dan] Goossen until Larios signed. He signed today. I’m really excited. It’s a done deal.”
Larios was equally euphoric. “I’m very eager to step into the ring against Wayne McCullough, who I know will be there to go toe-to-toe with me,” the Mexican said in a statement.
“I’ve been following his career for years and I’m very honored to have the opportunity to fight against a top fighter like him. However, I’ll be prepared for him when he tries to stop me from achieving my ninth world title defense.”
Goossen, who signed a deal with McCullough last fall that resurrected the Irish prizefighter’s career, described the matchup as a potential blockbuster.
“Larios-McCullough is a sports fan’s dream,” he said. “Two world-class boxers going nose-to-nose, punch-for-punch, with neither fighter taking a backward step. Simply put, it’s a war.”
Currently ranked eighth among featherweights by the WBC, McCullough, a former WBC bantamweight titlist with a 27-4 (18 KOs) pro ledger, will drop down four pounds to tackle the thrice beaten Larios (54-3-1, 35 KOs), who’s held the 122-pound diadem since November 2002.
His two previous attempts at the super bantamweight crown ended in losses, to Daniel Zaragoza in January 1997 and Erik Morales two years later, albeit he was lauded for his effort in both instances. He vowed that it would be different this time around.
“I don’t want to look good in defeat. I want to win,” he said from Santa Monica, where he’s training at new mentor Freddie Roach’s Wild Card Gym.
Asked if the timing of the world title match was good, since he’d have fought just once in nearly two years by the time he enters the ring, McCullough declared that he was ready to go.
“I’d have liked to have a few more fights, but everyone said I looked good against [Mike] Juarez even though it only went two rounds,” he started, alluding to the journeyman he beat last September in his only contest since the brutal loss to WBO featherweight champ Scott Harrison in March 2003.
“I think this is the right fight for me. I fought Zaragoza and Morales for this belt, so I feel I can stand up to him.”
And while others may question the credentials that have earned him another world title shot after his bruising outing against Harrison, the 34-year-old challenger said he feels that the popular perception from that fight will be his trump card.
“Larios will look at me as an old guy and that’s what I want him to do,” McCullough said. “He’ll think I’m done, which is a good thing. But he really doesn’t know what he’s in for.”
The “Pocket Rocket” believes also that Larios, despite having nearly twice as many bouts on his ledger, has not fought at the same level as him.
“He really hasn’t fought the good caliber guys,” he said. “I’ll probably be the biggest. Experience will be on my side because I have fought better fighters.” Neither was he impressed by the Mexican’s last outing, a successful defense against Australian Nadel Hussain last December that he watched from ringside.
Said McCullough: “He didn’t show me anything that I should be worried about. He made hard work of it against Hussain, who even managed to push him back.”
So confident is the Ulsterman of beating Larios that he’s already making plans for his first fight as champion.
“My first title defense I want to have in Ireland in May, then I’ll fight in Boston and New York,” he said.
This will be McCullough’s fifth world crack. The former 1992 Olympic Games silver medallist won the WBC 118-pound belt from Yasuei Yakushiji in Nagoya, Japan, in July 1995, and made two successful defenses before moving up to 122-pound.
He has, however, been unsuccessful in subsequent championship attempts. In addition to the failed bids against Zaragoza, Morales, and Harrison, McCullough also came up short against Nassem Hamed in October 1998, in his first quest for the WBO featherweight crown.
Tickets for the McCullough-Larios fight 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 http:www.tickets.com.