Harrison is third rate, says McCullough

WAYNE MCCULLOUGH believes WBO featherweight champion Scott Harrison is third rate in comparison to many fighters he has faced.

The Las Vegas-based McCullough arrived in Belfast yesterday to continue his preparation for the March 22 clash with Harrison, who will have home advantage at Glasgow’s Braehead Arena.

The ‘Pocket Rocket’ has boxed some of the best from bantamweight through to featherweight, including Erik Morales, Naseem Hamed and Yasuei Yakushiji, from whom he took the WBC bantamweight title in Japan eight years ago.

“As far as comparing Harrison to other world champions I have fought, Harrison is a ‘C’ fighter,” said McCullough. “Being an elite fighter, like myself, makes you an ‘A+’ fighter. I would rate Yakushiji, Hamed, Morales and (Daniel) Zaragoza as ‘A+’ fighters. But Harrison is not yet an elite fighter at this point in his career.”

McCullough is stepping up to featherweight championship class for the first time since losing on points to former WBO champion Hamed in 1998, but disputes any suggestion by the Harrison camp that he cannot compete with the natural strength of the Scot.

“Scott is continually saying that I am a bantamweight. The press continue to say that I am a super bantamweight but look at my record and you will see that I have fought more times around the featherweight limit than any other weight. In 29 fights, I have fought 11 times at featherweight, eight times at super-bantamweight and 10 times at bantamweight.”

McCullough can expect a hot reception in Glasgow but insists he is unconcerned about the passionate support for Harrison.

“There will be plenty of Irish fans travelling over for the fight and they will make it feel as if I’m boxing at home.”