Thursday, February 10, 2005
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WBC SUPER BANTAMWEIGHT CROWN: McCullough eyes title

Boxer says matching Larios' punch count key to winning fight

By KEVIN IOLE
REVIEW-JOURNAL

Wayne McCullough, right, landing a right to the head of Len Martinez in a 1999 fight, meets Oscar Larios tonight in Lemoore, Calif., with Larios' WBC super bantamweight belt on the line. Photo by Craig L. Moran.

To the untrained eye, Oscar Larios simply overwhelmed Nedal Hussein when the two met Nov. 27 at the MGM Grand.

To Las Vegan Wayne McCullough, Hussein squandered an opportunity to lift the WBC super bantamweight title from Larios.

McCullough vows he won't make that mistake tonight when he meets Larios in Lemoore, Calif., for supremacy at 122 pounds. The fight will be televised live on Fox Sports' "Best Damn Sports Show Period."

Larios won nearly every round against Hussein, pitching a shutout on the card of judge Chuck Hassett, winning 11 of 12 rounds on Dalby Shirley's card and 10 of 12 on Carol Castellano's card. McCullough had no dispute with the verdict, but he said it happened because Hussein failed to seize upon some obvious openings.

"Hussein came forward and he got into position to do something, and then he didn't do it," McCullough said. "He stopped. I don't know why. He was ready, and then for whatever reason, he held back. I won't stop."

McCullough, 34, remains one of boxing's best-conditioned fighters. He has always thrown a high volume of punches per round, which Hussein failed to do against Larios.

Larios threw punches at will against Hussein because he didn't have to fear return fire, McCullough said. McCullough, the 119-pound silver medalist while representing Ireland in the 1992 Olympics, vows to keep pumping punches at Larios.

"He's going to have to be offensive and defensive at the same time, which can be tricky," said McCullough (27-4, 18 knockouts). "What happened, I think, is that Larios was throwing a lot of punches, but Hussein was only throwing about 30 punches a round back. It wasn't enough, and it allowed Larios to stay in control and do what he wanted to do.

"It's a whole different story when you throw 100 punches a round and the guy on the other side is throwing 100 back at you. And I know one thing: I'll be able to keep that pace up from the first bell to the last."

McCullough, who won his only world title on July 30, 1995, said he hopes the 28-year-old Larios (54-3-1, 35 KOs) looks past him.

"If he thinks I'm an old man, that's only good for me," McCullough said. "Age isn't what it used to be for a fighter. Look at Bernard Hopkins: he's 40, and he's still considered the best fighter in the world. I'm a clean liver. I don't abuse my body. And I've only had 31 fights. I still have a lot of fights left in me, which you'll see (tonight)."