Los Angeles, CA (May 22, 2008) – Irish eyes will be smiling at the news that – following a nearly three-year absence – 1992 Olympic Silver Medalist and former WBC Bantamweight World Champion, Wayne “Pocket Rocket” McCullough, will be featured on the non-televised portion of the undercard of “Cayman Knockout: Championship Boxing” on Friday night, June 20, 2008..
McCullough (27-6, 18 KOs), a native of Belfast, Northern Ireland now living in Las Vegas, will take on rugged Juan Ruiz (21-5, 6 KOs), of Santa Clarita, California in a scheduled 10-round featherweight contest underneath undefeated Andre Ward (15-0, 10 KOs) versus Jerson Ravelo (18-2, 12 KOs) in a battle for the NABO Super Middleweight Title and the USBA Heavyweight Championship Bout between “Fast” Eddie Chambers (30-1, 16 KOs) and Raphael Butler (30-4, 23 KOs).
Presented by Goossen Tutor Promotions in association with the Cayman Islands Department of Tourism, the “Cayman Knockout: Championship Boxing” event will originate the capital of George Town on Grand Cayman and the Ward-Ravelo bout will be televised on SHOWTIME’s “SHOBOX: The New Generation.”
“People will probably say this is a comeback, but in truth I never retired,” stated the 37-year old McCullough, who captured a Silver Medal while representing Ireland in the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona. “I lost my last fight against Oscar Larios going for a world title. Most recently I was supposed to fight in Belfast last December, but my opponent — Kiko Martinez — didn’t make weight, so the fight was called off and I just kept training and getting ready to fight when the right opportunity presented itself.”
While waiting for his next challenge, McCullough has kept himself busy in his Las Vegas gym training young boxers such as welterweight Francisco Santana, and sparring to stay in shape for opportunities such as his upcoming bout with Ruiz in the Caymans and, hopefully with a victory, another opportunity at a World title.
“I’ve sparred somewhere between 600 and 700 rounds in the gym in the past three years,” McCullough, an Eddie Futch disciple who is self-trained and managed by his lovely wife, Cheryl, estimated.
“I have respect for the kid,” McCullough said of Ruiz, who is trained by Larry Goossen, brother of Wayne’s promoter, Dan, and who put up a tremendous effort in a narrow and controversial loss to Bernabe Concepcion in an NABF Super Bantamweight Title fight back in February. “I remember watching him fight in Vegas. He’s never been stopped. He’s a durable guy, but he’s never fought at a World Champion’s level. I thank the kid for taking the fight against me. He’s a tough guy and a World ranked fighter and that’s what I want. I want to fight a guy who can challenge me.
“I’ve never been to the Cayman Islands and I’m really looking forward to fighting there,” McCullough concluded. “But I’m not going there on holiday. I’m going for business.”
“Wayne’s right when he says this is a tough fight, but it’s this type of challenge that will immediately catapult him into a World Championship bout with a victory,” Dan Goossen exclaimed. “To have an accomplished and popular World renown boxer such as Wayne fighting in this beautiful Caribbean paradise gives the local Cayman fans the opportunity to see one of the hardest working fighters in our sport. I can assure you, Wayne and Ruiz will give every ounce of power they have inside them to win. It will be nonstop action!”
In addition to the McCullough-Ruiz bout, the world-class undercard will also feature a pair of rising welterweight prospects in Mexican Pavel Miranda (15-1, 8 KOs) taking on undefeated Ty Barnett (13-0-1, 9 KOs) of Washington, DC.
Hailing from Tijuana, 20-year old Miranda has rebounded from a controversial split decision loss in his seventh fight to reel off nine straight wins that included six knockouts. In May of 2007, Miranda took home his first pro title – the WBC Youth Junior Welterweight Championship – with a ten round decision win over previously unbeaten Miguel Zuniga, and in his last fight on February 22, Miranda added the WBC CABOFE Light Welterweight Championship to his trophy case as he beat William Gonzalez over eight rounds.
Barnett, the undefeated junior welterweight prospect from Washington DC, is trained by Barry Hunter and is a stablemate of the world ranked Peterson brothers, Lamont and Anthony. Barnett has a lot to live up to in 2008 considering he’s coming off an amazing year in 2007 by knocking out all but one of his opponents.
Additional bouts and travel packages will be announced shortly.