Brave McCullough loses on points

Wayne McCullough failed in his bid to land the WBC super-bantamweight title this morning in Lemoore, California, losing a unanimous decision to champion Oscar Larios.

But Larios was stretched to the limit by the Irishman and the judges’ scoring of 118-109 118-110 and 116-11 did not reflect an evenly-fought contest.

Mexican Larios seemed relieved at the end of the 12 hard-fought rounds and he is now set for a showdown with WBO super-bantamweight champion Joan Guzman on April 9.

At 34 some felt McCullough could not withstand the pressure of Larios, six years his junior, but in the early stages the former WBC bantamweight champion seemed to be on top.

Despite having only two competitive rounds in two years since his severe beating at the hands of WBO featherweight champion Scott Harrison, McCullough was firing on all cylinders.

Larios was finding it hard to handle the challenger and McCullough’s trademark tremendous volume of punches had him in front at the midway point.

But gradually McCullough seemed to tire and the final third belonged, crucially, to the champion.

The Belfast man was in serious trouble at the end of the 10th and while lesser men would have gone down he remained on his feet despite the heavy bombardment.

At the final bell the judges did not do McCullough justice but once again he proved his ring warrior’s heart with a gutsy display.