Carl Frampton retraces the steps of fellow Belfast fighter Wayne McCullough when he takes on Leo Santa Cruz on Saturday night.
McCullough also tangled with a Mexican in a world title rematch at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas and ‘The Pocket Rocket’ looks back at the penultimate fight of his career and forward to Frampton-Santa Cruz II. Andy Watters writes…
IT WAS July 16, 2005 and, a decade after he’d first become world champion, Wayne McCullough (35) skipped from toe-to-toe waiting for the 33rd opening bell of his career.
In the other corner Oscar Larios whipped meaty hooks left and right and when the bell finally clanged the fighters met in the centre of the ring and took up from where they’d left off five months previously.
That night they’d thrown over 3000 punches at each other and, while Larios got the decision on the judges’ scorecards, the rip-roaring rumble was competitive enough to warrant a rematch McCullough thought he could win.
But on the night it wasn’t there. McCullough showed flashes but the reflexes, movement and speed weren’t what they were. The only quality that remained was his warriors’ heart and though it drove him on, by the midway point the fight had become one-sided.
Larios rained down punishing shots against the stubborn Belfast man who, typically, refused to yield or countenance defeat. The eighth round was tough viewing for McCullough fans and there murmurs at ringside that he might have to be pulled out because quitting just wasn’t in his make-up.
By the end of the ninth, his coach Freddie Roach gave him an ultimatum.
Roach: “Wayne you better go out there and let your hands go and not get hit so much or I’m gonna stop the fight. You’re taking too many shots.
McCullough: “I’m alright… I’m fine.”
McCullough, as tough a man who ever laced up gloves, fought on in the 10th but it was another Larios round.
At the bell, ring doctor Margaret Goodman met him in the corner and took the decision to put his health before his fighting pride.
Goodman: “Wayne I think it’s enough.
McCullough: “Come on Margaret, two rounds…
Goodman: “Wayne, I have so much respect for you, but it’s just too much.
McCullough: “Two rounds to go… Come on Margaret, two rounds to go. Please, please…”
Despite his appeals it was all over and almost 12 years on, he’d still like to go back in and do those two rounds.
McCullough took a break from training actor Tim Murphy in his LA gym to recall that Las Vegas night. He’ll be back in the MGM on Saturday and fancies Carl Frampton to avenge that loss to Larios.
AW: Larios got the decision in the first fight, but there were a lot of close rounds and it was terrific tear-up?
WMcC: A lot of people thought I won the first fight but the judges thought otherwise so I got the rematch.
I’d had one fight in two years before it (Mike Juarez) and I fought well, but I could have fought better.
AW: How did you prepare for the rematch knowing you’d lost first time?
WMcC: I trained myself for the second fight more or less and my coach Freddie Roach turned up for the last three or four days.
He was busy and I did my own training camp and had my own sparring partners. The mistake I made was I listened to Freddie over the last couple of days instead of listening to myself.
I didn’t think I was good enough to be a coach at that time but I had learned a lot from Eddie Futch (former coach of Joe Frazier).
Eddie had taught me how to study tapes and how to dissect people but I thought ‘maybe I do need somebody?’
AW: After 10 rounds you were well behind but you wanted to continue even though your corner wanted the fight stopped. Did you still think you could win?
WMcC: I thought I was doing OK but Freddie pulled me out.
I thought the doctor had pulled me out but I found out later on – six months later – that it was him.
I was disgusted and I contacted him about it. I knew the doctor and I respected her decision but I found out that Freddie had already told her to pull me out between the rounds.
I never had a mark on me and I did mark up – I’m the type of guy who bruises up but I don’t cut. I had Oscar Larios cut over both eyes and in the last two rounds anything could have happened but I wasn’t allowed to fight them – it was two rounds taken away from my life.
AW: You feel you should have been allowed to continue. Would Eddie Futch have pulled you out?
WMcC: Funny thing, Eddie was in my corner when I fought Jose Luis Bueno in Dublin and he never even thought about pulling me out and I was completely busted up. He knew it was my style of fighting, that’s the way I fought.
I learned that if you don’t spend time in training camp you shouldn’t be the boss for the fight.
AW: How did you deal with the defeat?
WMcC: I was disgusted with boxing after that – for five weeks I didn’t even do a workout. I walked out of the arena disgusted. I didn’t even watch Bernard Hopkins fight Jermaine Taylor.
My family were over and we went to a restaurant and got something to eat and went home and I never did that after a fight. If I’d been busted up that much I should have had to go to hospital, but I didn’t.
AW: How are things between you and Freddie Roach?
WMcC: I’ve seen Freddie a few times since and we have no hard feelings – he asked me to be his assistant in the dressingroom that night but I think it was a pity party really and nothing ever came of it. I didn’t need anybody to feel pity for me.
But I don’t mean to blame anybody, it’s history now… Let’s talk about Carl.
AW: OK then. There are several similarities with your story and Leo Santa Cruz. He says his brother ran his training camp before his first fight with Frampton and then his dad Jose came in when he arrived in New York and took over.
By fight night he claims he had two distinct gameplans in his head and didn’t know how to fight?
WMcC: You could actually see that.
Santa Cruz kept following Carl around the ring instead of stepping over and throwing the right hand because his dad didn’t tell him: ‘He’s moving to his left, step over and throw a straight right hand with a left hook behind it’.
That’s why I think Carl can win easier this time because I don’t think the dad has the knowledge to tell Leo how to do things right. It was obvious he needed to step to his right and he didn’t do it but at the same time Carl fought a brilliant fight and made it look easy.
One judge had it a draw which was ridiculous.
AW: Do you think we’ll see better from Santa Cruz on Saturday night?
WMcC: He did fight a little different than when I’d seen him before but I think it was down to Carl’s gameplan.
When I fought Naseem Hamed, I made him look terrible. Eddie Futch wasn’t in my corner, but he gave me the gameplan - told me to move to his left and get away from his right hook. I did that and made him look terrible.
Carl’s gameplan was perfect first time – jabbing and moving and keeping away from the big punches. Santa Cruz is the type of guy that if you stand in front of him he can throw 100 punches a round. He was doing that, but against Carl he was throwing five and maybe landing one or two.
AW: The Frampton camp is predicting a more convincing win this time. Do you see it the same way?
WMcC: I think Carl’s going to win a lot easier, I really do.
He’s smart enough to know that Santa Cruz will come with a Plan B this time and try to step it up.
Two or three times in the amateurs I fought people in rematches and I knew they were coming to be better the next time but I thought ‘OK, I’m going to beat them easier this time’ and I always did that.
Carl will know that Santa Cruz is going to come looking for him this time.
