| Wayne McCullough | |
|---|---|
| Statistics | |
| Real name | Wayne Pocket Rocket McCullough |
| Nickname(s) | The Pocket Rocket |
| Rated at | Bantamweight |
| Height | 170 cm |
| Reach | 168 cm |
| Nationality | USA |
| Born | 7 July 1970 Belfast, Northern Ireland |
| Died | - |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 34 |
| Wins | 27 |
| Wins by KO | 18 |
| Losses | 7 |
| Draws | 0 |
| No contests | 0 |
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men's Boxing | ||
| Olympic Games | ||
| Competitor for Ireland | ||
| Silver | 1992 Barcelona | Bantamweight |
| Commonwealth Games | ||
| Competitor for Northern Ireland | ||
| Gold | 1990 Auckland | Flyweight |
Wayne William McCullough (born 7 July 1970 in Belfast, Northern Ireland) is a professional boxer. During his professional career, which spans back to 1993, he held the WBC title in the Bantamweight category.[1] In May 2004, Wayne legally changed his name by deed poll to Wayne Pocket Rocket McCullough.
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As an amateur, McCullough participated in the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, Korea and was asked to carry the Irish flag because he was the youngest member of the team at 18 years old. Even though he lived on the staunchly Protestant Shankill Road area, he was honored to carry the flag of the country he was representing. He went on to win a silver medal for Ireland at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, and a gold medal at the 1990 Commonwealth Games in Auckland, where he was also honored to carry the Northern Ireland flag in the closing ceremony while representing that country.[2]
The medal ceremony for his Commonwealth title was marked by an unusual incident. A technical problem with the public address system made it impossible to play the recording of the Northern Ireland anthem, Londonderry Air. The New Zealand official in charge of the sound, Bob Gibson, promptly took the microphone and sang the anthem unaccompanied, using the politically neutral lyrics to "Danny Boy", normally sung to the same tune.[3]
McCullough also won Bronze for Ireland at the World Cup in Bombay, India in 1990, before moving from Northern Ireland to Las Vegas to begin his professional career in 1993.
Amateur record 319–11 Over 100 KO's
Had to fight for Bronze medal as there was only one awarded
In 1993 Wayne moved to Las Vegas to train under the legendary Eddie Futch, who agreed to train him after seeing him at the Olympics. Wayne always fought in neutral colors and didn't play any anthems during his career. Both Protestants and Catholics came together to support him. Within a year of turning pro, he had won the North American Boxing Federation title. On 30 July 1995, less than 2½ years since his pro debut, he won the WBC championship by beating the champion Yasuei Yakushiji in Nagoya, Japan to become Ireland's first ever WBC world champion. He was the first (and only) Irish or British fighter to travel to Japan and successfully win a belt.
McCullough defended his title twice before vacating the belt and moving up in weight to challenge WBC super bantamweight champion Daniel Zaragoza but lost via a split decision in the WBC "Fight of the Year". After this fight, his wife Cheryl and Stuart Campbell began to manage his career when his original manager, Mat Tinley, became a boxing promoter.
McCullough unsuccessfully challenged champions Naseem Hamed in 1998, and Erik Morales in 1999. Both exciting "Fight Of The Year" contenders, he broke both of their incredible KO streaks while taking them the distance. Hamed had knocked out 18 opponents straight before McCullough, he was 30-0 at the time. Morales had knocked out 9 of his previous 9 opponents and was 34-0 at the time. Morales stated that McCullough gave him one of the top three fights of his career and almost quit on his stool after the 9th round (according to RING magazine).
In October 2000, McCullough was returning to his native Belfast for a homecoming fight. Two days before the fight was scheduled to take place, he was told that he had a cyst on his brain, he couldn’t fight again and that one more blow to the head could kill him. McCullough flew back to Las Vegas and was advised by the Nevada Commission to visit the neurosurgery department at UCLA for a more thorough investigation. Within a few weeks the doctor at UCLA, Neil Martin, called to say he had consulted with some of the top neurosurgeons in the USA and they had come to the conclusion that the cyst was not on his brain, but in a space between the brain and the skull – called the arachnoid mater – and that he saw no reason for him to give up his boxing career.
Nevertheless, the British Boxing Board of Control continued to deny him a license. He was relicensed in Nevada and fought again in January 2002. After a very public battle, the BBBofC could no longer deny him a license and later that same year McCullough stepped back into a British ring under the Frank Warren Promotions banner.[4] Since then he has had mixed success, winning five fights but losing to Scott Harrison and Mexican world champion Óscar Larios on two occasions. The result of his first fight with Larios is widely disputed.[5][6]
On 17 August 2005 McCullough was honored by the WBC to become their first ever WBC World Ambassador for Peace and Goodwill in Sports.
In September 2005, McCullough became a United States citizen.[7] He is known for his dogged, relentless attacking style and has never been knocked down or stopped by a fighter in a professional bout.[8][9] In November 2005, McCullough released his autobiography, Pocket Rocket: Don't Quit, in the UK and Ireland. He went on a publicity tour to promote the book, which reached Number 2 on the best sellers list.
In 2007, Wayne McCullough was asked to join the Ultimate Fighting Championship organisation by his longtime friend, UFC President, Dana White as a PR Associate and travels around the world helping to promote the sport of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA).
He currently trains fighters both in boxing and MMA and is setting up his own charity - IHOW.
On 1 December 2007 McCullough had signed to fight Spainiard Kiko Martinez who has just defeated Bernard Dunne at the Point Depot, Dublin for the European super bantamweight title. The fight between McCullough and Martinez was due to take place at Belfast's Kings Hall on 1 December 2007.[10]
McCullough had not fought for over two years and the Kings Hall venue was sold out for the fight. It was agreed that the non title fight would take place at 8 st 12 lb mark. However, on the day before the fight there was uproar during the weigh-in and the fight was cancelled by the BBBC amid chaotic scenes.[11]
McCullough had already contracted to fight at 2 lb over the 8 st 10 lb championship weight and he weighed in at 8 st 9 lb. However, Martinez failed to make the agreed weight and was 1.75 lb over the agreed weight.[11][11]
Martinez was given a couple of hours to shed the excess weight, but did not return to weigh in again and the scales were closed by a BBBofC official. A furious McCullough stated "I couldn't believe it. He comes in over the weight and then after being asked to take it off he just sits there and does nothing. I just can't believe what has happened. I was ready fight and ready to win and he comes in that much over the weight.".[11][12]
On 20 June 2008, McCullough fought Juan Ruiz in the Cayman Islands, his first fight in three years. He lost in six rounds, retiring on his stool. Despite being ahead on two of three judges' scorecards after six rounds, he told his corner he could not go on due to an injury he had sustained in training.
The Belfast boxer took the microphone and revealed this might be his swansong.
He said: "I think this could be my last fight and I want to thank you all for coming. I am disappointed with the way things went but I just felt I could not go on."
McCullough had not fought since losing a WBC super bantamweight title fight against Óscar Larios in Las Vegas in 2005. [13]
McCullough tweeted on his Twitter page @WayneMcCullough on April 30th 2010 that he would be participating in the next 'Prizefighter' tournament in Britain [14]
McCullough issued a press release in March 2009 stating he plans to continue with his boxing career, proposing a fight with Bernard Dunne, the former WBA super-bantamweight champion
| Preceded by Yasuei Yakushiji |
WBC Bantamweight Champion 4 May 1995 – 11 January 1997 (vacated) |
Succeeded by Sirimongkol Singwangcha |