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McCullough fights forfeatherweight crown

February 16, 2011

By Staff Reporter

By Jay Mamba

After several years of long distance feuding between fighters Wayne McCullough and England’s flamboyant Prince Naseem Hamed, they have now been lined up for a Halloween’s night showdown in the United States.

At stake on October 31 will be the pint-sized Hamed’s World Boxing Organization (WBO) featherweight crown, McCullough’s promoters said in Denver last Friday.

Media reports said the fight, which would have been a blockbuster attraction in either Ireland or Britain, is slated for Las Vegas where the Belfast-born McCullough lives. But Dan Gossen, one of the Irishman’s promoters at America Presents, could not confirm that, saying only that it would be somewhere in the US.

Hamed and his London-based promoter, Frank Warren, have apparently decided to stake the WBO 126-pound title against McCullough, a former WBC bantamweight titlist, after turning down a long planned defense against American Kennedy McKinney.

"It’s a dream come true. It’s the fight I’ve always wanted," McCullough, whose record is 22-1 (14 KO’s), said from his Las Vegas home at the weekend.

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Such is the Belfastman’s desire to square off with the cocky Hamed that he’s accepted a much lower purse than had been first quoted when initial interest in a clash between the two stars began three years.

McCullough said he’d accepted a six-figure payday, but much less than the 600,000 pounds sterling (nearly one million dollars) reported in the Belfast Telegraph. "It won’t even be my highest pay day," he added.

The former Olympic silver medalist has often accused Hamed, who was born in Sheffield, England, of Yemeni parentage, of being jealous of his (McCullough’s) popularity in the Ireland and Britain.

It could, however, be the toughest fight of McCullough’s six-year pro career. Though standing only 5-foot-3 inches, Hamed is probably the hardest hitting featherweight in boxing history, and the Oct. 31 bout will pit his paralyzing power against the 5-foot-7 McCullough’s granite chin.

The challenger is, however, undaunted. "I’ve sparred with bigger guys, including welterweights (147-pounders) before. I know he probably hits harder than me, but it’s not about power. I hit hard enough and I’m physically strong," McCullough noted, adding: "Both me and him will enter the ring at 126 pounds."

Hamed also has a big chink in his armor that McCullough, who himself has never been knocked down, will attempt to exploit: his brittle chin.

In his last American appearance, against New Yorker Kevin Kelly at Madison Square Garden last December, Hamed was floored four times but survived to score a fourth round KO. He improved his ledger to 30-0 with a seventh round TKO of Puerto Rican veteran Wilfredo Vazquez, four months ago.

Asked how he’d fight the awkward Hamed, McCullough said: "He takes chances (and) comes in swinging with his chin up. I’ll keep my hands up and my chin down, and try to pressure him. I’ll try to keep the punch rate up."

Interestingly, Hamed will have a strong Dublin influence helping him to fend off the gutsy challenge of the relentless McCullough, who has won his last two contests this year on points after a 15-month lay-off.

Behind Hamed’s success and unorthodox style is trainer Brendan Ingle, a 57 year-old Dubliner who took the 23 year-old WBO champ under his wings when he was seven.

"I know Brendan Ingle very well," said McCullough. "He’s a nice guy."

On the reported Las Vegas venue for the fight, the Irishman said Vegas was as good as home. "It’s my adopted home. My daughter was born here."

McCullough predicted that he wouldn’t be short of support. "I expect a lot of Irish from New York and the east coast to show up."

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