By Joseph Boyle: The Anglo-Zanzibar War which broke out in 1896 has the dubious distinction of being the shortest war of all time, at just 38 minutes. Needless to say, it is of course rarely remembered by anyone. Fast forward 100 years to the Point Theatre in Dublin where another war raged for roughly the same amount of time as its predecessor. However, neither man wilted or retreated in the same fashion as the forces of Zanzibar had a century before. The challenger was Mexican Jose Luis Bueno, and he challenged home favourite Wayne McCullough for the WBC World Bantamweight title..
First of all, let me set the scene. Known as the ‘Pocket Rocket’, McCullough had won silver in the Barcelona Olympics of 1992 (losing to one Joel Casamayor in the Bantamweight final). He had won the WBC strap two years previously when he outboxed the highly capable Japanese champion Yasuei Yakushiji in the champion’s own backyard, which was no mean feat. McCullough had become a real fans favourite in compiling an 18-0 record with his exciting boxer-puncher style. Jose Luis Bueno was no easy defence, let me tell you. He had been WBC champion down at Super-flyweight, overcoming a broken hand to win the belt in Korea. He had since lost that crown in Japan, but was an impressive victor on the McCullough-Bredahl undercard the previous December.
Bueno had the legendary Mexican trainer in his corner, Nacho Beristain, who claimed prior to the fight that McCullough had been beaten by Victor Rabanales (another Beristain fighter) but had been gifted a decision. None of this unsettled the ‘Pocket Rocket’, who had other things to worry about-he was finding it increasingly difficult to make the Bantamweight limit of 118 lbs. Despite weight concerns and Bueno being a tough opponent, McCullough was a firm favourite to win the bout.
From the opening bell, McCullough poured forward. However, Bueno and Beristain had worked on an obvious gameplan, namely to counter with big right hands. This pattern of all-out action lasted for almost 30 minutes, up until the 10th round. McCullough would throw shots; the Mexican would counter only to find McCullough had now burrowed his way inside and begin to pound away once again. A right hand in just the second round had burst the Irishman’s eardrum, and both men were bloodied around the nose and mouth. McCullough began to retreat in the 10th round for the first time, proving that there was a limit to how many punches he could shrug off. Bueno looked to be getting on top, but McCullough came roaring back in the 11th as the Dublin crowd urged him to victory. When the final bell rang, both men embraced in the centre of the ring. I feel that, having watched the fight again for the first time in many years (on VHS I might add, remember them?), McCullough’s jab and superior work-rate had won him the day. However, it must be said Bueno landed the heavier shots. This was borne out in the split decision verdict from the judges, 118-114 and 116-112 for the Irishman, with one judge scoring it 116-113 for the unlucky, and talented, Mexican warrior.
Looking at both men after the fight, it was easy to tell that this had been a brutal war. McCullough’s face was almost unrecognizable, swollen and puffed up, similar to Joe Frazier post-Manila. Bueno had golf-ball like swelling under one eye, but did not appear to be in as bad shape as the victor. The following day, Vincent Hogan of the Sunday Independent brought some perspective to the career of Wayne McCullough. After the fight Matt Tinley and Brendan Ingle, manager and trainer respectively, began to discuss a super-fight for Wayne which would see him fight unbeaten Featherweight champion ‘Prince’ Naseem Hamed. Where was McCullough in all of this? Answer: Four miles away being treated for injuries sustained at the hands of a super-Flyweight. A surreal anecdote if you ask me.
Unfortunately, this was to be the last time we would see the ‘Pocket Rocket’ as a world champion. He could no longer make the Bantamweight limit and went on to lose his unbeaten record to veteran Daniel Zaragoza when fighting for the WBC Super-Bantamweight title. He would go on to lose 5 more times, all in title fights, against Hamed, Erik Morales, Scott Harrison, and Oscar Larios (twice).
Larios was the only man to stop McCullough, and the referee’s decision was met with tears by McCullough, who pleaded with the referee to allow him to box on. McCullough was a personal hero of mine, but this does not disguise the fact that he had flaws. He was most certainly too brave for his own good, but I now pose a question for his detractors. I have heard it being said that McCullough was only fighting regularly at a world level due to his popularity. But is it not conceivable that McCullough’s peak years were from 1994 to 1996? In my eyes, the answer is yes. Not for a moment am I saying he would have beaten Morales et al. at his peak, but if a peak Wayne McCullough was around today at Bantamweight, I believe he would be the number one man of the division. The savage war with Bueno and the damage done may well have put an end to Wayne as a truly elite fighter.
For those of you who have never seen Wayne McCullough v Jose Luis Bueno, you do not know what you are missing out on. I would even go as far to say that it may even rival Marquez-Vazquez III, although the quality of those two men are perhaps a notch above. For those of you who have, I hope you were enthralled by it as much as I was. The Ring Magazine’s Fight of the Year in 1996 was Evander Holyfield’s defeat of Mike Tyson, an understandable choice given the magnitude of that fight. But make no bones about it, McCullough v Bueno ain’t that far behind.