McCullough batters Martinez at Hard Rock

Dean Juipe

Tuesday, Aug. 31, 1999 | 10:55 a.m.

As was apparent from the designs on his arms, Len Martinez had already seen the inside of a tattoo parlor.

Yet it's unlikely he has ever been tattooed like he was Monday night at the hands of Wayne McCullough.

Pitching a 10-round shutout at the Hard Rock casino-hotel, McCullough swarmed over Martinez from start to finish in taking a unanimous decision that thrusts the Las Vegan into a world championship fight in October. While McCullough can't say he came through the featherweight bout unscathed, he so thoroughly dominated Martinez that it was a medical marvel the loser withstood the nonstop abuse.

"That was the first time I ever had a guy hurt and he wouldn't go down," McCullough said after upping his record to 23-2 and solidifying an Oct. 22 title fight with World Boxing Council super bantamweight champion Erik Morales in Detroit. "I thought the body shots I was hitting him with would cripple him. He kept grunting, so I know they hurt.

"But he just wouldn't go down."

To his credit, Martinez withstood an onslaught that never allowed him a moment's rest. McCullough repeatedly sprinted to the center of the ring at the opening of each round and just as repeatedly threw dozens of punches that Martinez was unable to defend.

Nonetheless, the easy-to-score fight went to the judges and their agreement came as no surprise. Glen Trowbridge and Art Lurie each scored it 99-90, while Chuck Giampa saw it 99-89. The Sun had McCullough on top 99-90, with the one-point deduction the result of a fourth-round penalty imposed by referee Kenny Bayless for a low blow.

A capacity crowd of 1,400 cheered enthusiastically as the fight concluded, giving McCullough his due for his enterprising attack while crediting Martinez for his survival instincts.

"I was trying for a knockout the last three rounds," McCullough said. "Believe me, I wanted a knockout. But I also wanted to show the old Pocket Rocket was back."

There's no denying McCullough is in shape and has the fortitude of a battalion of men twice his size. He peppered Martinez without mercy for a solid 30 minutes and never took a round off to conserve or regain his strength.

"I did get tired in the fifth round," he confessed however. "I felt dizzy. But I told myself, 'There's no way I can be tired' and I tried not to let it show."

He succeeded on that count, as well as his other prefight goals of winning and not getting hurt. That said, an accidental clash of heads in the second round opened a wound on each man's head and in McCullough's case that could have been disastrous with the big-money fight with Morales on the horizon.

"I knew I was cut and I've been cut there about 10 times before," McCullough said of a spot inside his hairline near his left temple. "But the way I feel about it now is that I got cut, but I didn't cut.

"I don't think it's a big deal."

McCullough was paid $37,500 for taking part in the main event which was held as a private function, albeit one that will be nationally televised Sept. 19. Martinez, gallantly falling to 17-6-1, took home $6,500 for his troubles.

In two other fights of interest on the card, Las Vegas resident Derrick Harmon (19-1) gained an eight-round unanimous decision over Earl Butler (19-9-2) in a light heavyweight pairing, and potential junior welterweight standout Hector Camacho Jr. (24-0) took out a less-than-game Simon Gonzalez (24-8-2) at 2:45 of the first round with a left hand to the side of the head.