Friday, Feb. 11, 2005 | 10:21 a.m.
LEMOORE, Calif. -- Having arrived at a crossroads in his splendid boxing career, Wayne McCullough reclined in a makeshift dressing room late Thursday and reflected on a bittersweet night in California's Central Valley.
McCullough had just gone 12 grueling rounds with the world's best 122-pound fighter before coming out on the short end of a unanimous decision, and now he was facing equally grueling questions about his future in the sport.
For stretches of the WBC super bantamweight title fight, McCullough stood toe-to-toe with Oscar Larios. At other times, McCullough was able to control the tempo of the bout, forcing Larios into the corner or against the ropes.
But the rangy Mexican champion put the fight away down the homestretch, leaving McCullough, at age 34, to ponder his next move.
"I've fought for this belt three times, and now I've lost three times," McCullough said, quietly. "I think it might be time to have a break for a while."
Larios (55-3-1) retained his championship belt, winning for the 16th consecutive time before a thoroughly engaged crowd at the Palace Indian Gaming Center and a worldwide audience on Fox Sports Net.
McCullough's record dropped to 27-5 -- but he's 0-for-his-last-5 in world title fights, including bouts at 122 and 126 pounds, leading to speculation the popular "Pocket Rocket" will consider retirement.
"This is not the kind of fight where you say 'I'm done,' " said McCullough, who lives and sometimes trains in Summerlin. "I went up against the best guy out there at 122 pounds, and I stayed right in there; I proved I was as strong or stronger than him."
McCullough, a former world bantamweight champ, had been hoping his recently formed relationship with renowned trainer Freddie Roach would lead to a successful title shot this time around.
"I'm going to have to sit back, go back home, talk to Freddie and then decide what to do," McCullough said.
Larios, who had the advantage against McCullough in height and reach, won by scores of 116-111, 118-110 and 118-109 on the judges' cards.
The Sun scored it 116-112 for Larios.
Roach, one of the finest trainers in the game, said he saw the fight as closer to even.
"I would have taken a draw," Roach said. "I thought Larios was landing the bigger shots but Wayne was landing shots more frequently.
"The margins the judges scored it by were too wide. When a guy's the aggressor, and he's backing the other guy up, the way Wayne was, you've got to give him points for that."
McCullough thought he deserved more credit for getting the best of some furious exchanges with Larios during the first half of the fight.
"Ten rounds to two? That's ridiculous," said McCullough, originally from Belfast, Northern Ireland. "They must have been blind. ... Sometimes the judges take away from a good fight; you look at the scoring and think, ah, it was not so good, when in reality it was a good fight."
Larios came out firing most rounds with a rapid flurry of punches, but McCullough -- who was once honored by The Ring magazine for having boxing's best chin -- held his ground.
A McCullough punch opened a cut by Larios' left eye in the middle rounds; although the eye swelled a little, it was never in danger of closing completely.
"Every time I hit him in the body, he was groaning," McCullough said. "He'll be feeling it tomorrow. I thought he would wilt, but he didn't.
"I started out pretty well; the sharpness was there. I know I hurt him a couple times, and he stumbled a couple times. I thought he was gonna go (down), but he didn't."
Both men were extraordinarily busy throughout the fight, with McCullough staying low and working the body and Larios landing open, heavy shots to the challenger's jaw -- sometimes at an alarming rate.
"I don't know what the punch stats were, but I can tell you, you're not going to find a fight that had more punches thrown than this one," said Dan Goossen, McCullough's promoter.
Goossen congratulated McCullough on his effort afterward, and called the bout a strong, if early, candidate for fight of the year.
At the same time, he struck a cautionary note regarding McCullough's future in the ring.
"Wayne proved to a lot of people that he can still compete well at this level," Goossen said. "However, I'm not necessarily convinced I want to see him continue to compete at this level."
Larios, of Guadalajara, said McCullough displayed the conditioning of a fighter in his prime.
"He's 34, but he was so well-prepared it wouldn't matter if he was 40 -- I think he'd still be very well-conditioned," said Larios, 28. "It was a beautiful fight. ... Wayne McCullough is a very strong fighter. He's got great stamina, but maybe not great power."
Roach said if McCullough does opt to retire, it's possible the two men could end up working together, training young fighters at Roach's gym in Los Angeles.
"No matter what he decides, I'll be there with him," Roach said.
Ward, of Oakland, Calif., was stung by a big counterpunch by Kost in the first round, but recovered well and dominated the rest of the way in the super middleweight six-rounder.
"The most valuable thing I learned tonight was to stick to the game plan, stay composed," Ward said. "I got hit with a good shot, but I didn't black out or anything. I knew where I was. I stayed in control."
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