Columnist Jeff Haney: McCullough vows victory in rematch

Thursday, July 7, 2005 | 9:47 a.m.

Jeff Haney covers boxing for the Las Vegas Sun. Reach him at (702) 259-4041 or haney@lasvegassun.com.

No one wants to fight Wayne McCullough twice.

Given McCullough's rugged, relentless style in the ring, it's easy to understand why.

"Everybody that fights me, they're never the same fighter again," McCullough said. "Nobody ever wants to give me a rematch."

Until now.

McCullough, a former world champion and 12-year Summerlin resident, will try to avenge his February loss to Oscar Larios when the two men clash for the WBC super bantamweight world title July 16 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. The bout will take place on the undercard of the Bernard Hopkins-Jermain Taylor middleweight showdown.

The card, in which Hopkins defends his undisputed middleweight championship in the main event, will be available on HBO Pay-Per-View.

"Larios is a great fighter, and I respect him for giving me the rematch," McCullough said on a national conference call Wednesday. "But he's not going to be the same guy. ... I believe I can stop Larios if I keep the pace up."

In their first meeting, Larios (55-3-1, 35 knockouts) scored a 12-round unanimous decision against McCullough (27-5, 18 KOs) at an Indian casino in the San Joaquin Valley town of Lemoore, Calif.

It was a competitive and entertaining fight, and the judges' scoring, according to McCullough, left a lot to be desired. Two judges had it 118-110 and the third had it 116-112.

McCullough's trainer Freddie Roach said he saw it as a draw, and McCullough concurred.

"I knew the fight was close," McCullough said. "Losing by one or two points wouldn't have bothered me. But the (scores were) an embarrassment to me, really. ... The judges just didn't bring their glasses with them."

McCullough, sensing he had unfinished business with Larios, publicly called out the rangy Mexican in both English and Spanish, initially to no avail.

For a while, it looked as if a frustrated McCullough would be denied a rematch. But McCullough gave credit to his promoter Dan Goossen for not only securing the fight but also landing it in an ideal spot for McCullough -- on the Strip, in his adopted hometown.

McCullough called the high-profile Las Vegas site a "dream come true."

"I know in Vegas I'll get a fair shake," McCullough said. "That's all I want. ...

"I need to beat him convincingly this time and take it out of the judges' hands. I'd like to knock him out, really."

For McCullough, who turns 35 today, the rematch with Larios marks his latest effort to regain world championship status. He is 0-for-5 in world title fights since 1997 after winning his first world championship, the WBC bantamweight belt, against Yasuei Yakushiji in Japan on July 30, 1995.

"It's been 10 years, almost 10 years to the day," McCullough, a native of Belfast, Northern Ireland, said. "I'm looking forward to becoming a world champion again. ...

"I actually didn't think I'd still be fighting (at 35), but ... I think I'm a better fighter now than I was then. I'm stronger, smarter. I think I can fight until I'm 50 years old."

Forrest-Rios

In another featured undercard bout before Hopkins-Taylor, former welterweight world champ Vernon Forrest returns to the ring from a two-year layoff prompted by injuries when he takes on Sergio Rios (6-1, 4 KOs).

Forrest (35-2, 26 KOs) outpointed Shane Mosley in a pair of 2002 world title fights, but two consecutive losses to Ricardo Mayorga in 2003, and injuries to his left shoulder and elbow, sent Forrest into a period of inactivity.

After undergoing surgery several times, he moves up to junior middleweight for the fight against little-known Rios.

"I don't think my shoulder will ever be 100 percent again, but I'll take 70, 80, 90 percent," Forrest said.

Forrest, 34, said he sees the July 16 bout as the first in a series of smaller fights as he continues his rehabilitation. Forrest plans an eventual return to welterweight and a run for another title in that weight class.

"I see myself taking a step down from the big-name fights for right now," Forrest said. "I've got a minor league assignment to do; I'm coming off an injury. I want to build up my physical confidence, and that will help build up my mental confidence."

Peter's ready

Tuneup fight? Who needs another tuneup fight?

Las Vegas heavyweight contender Samuel Peter, fresh off an impressive second-round knockout of Taurus Sykes this past Saturday in Reno, says he's ready and willing to take on any of the division's major title-holders in a championship bout.

"Any one of them," Peter (24-0, 21 KOs) said after the fight at the Reno Events Center. "I'll fight anyone. I will be the next heavyweight world champion."

Peter, a 24-year-old knockout artist, caught Sykes (23-2-1) with a big right hand, then finished off the Brooklyn fighter with a heavy barrage of unanswered punches.

"I was surprised by his power," Sykes said. "I think he'll be the next champ."

Peter's promoter Dino Duva said he's willing to speed up Peter's schedule to the point of forgoing any more tuneup bouts and placing him in a world title fight as soon as a deal can be struck, even as early as this fall.

"Samuel will be the savior of the heavyweight division," Duva said.

TV watch

As a preview of Hopkins-Taylor, HBO2 will replay Hopkins vs. Oscar De La Hoya and Taylor vs. Daniel Edouard at 10:30 p.m. on Friday, July 15, and 11 a.m. on July 16.

Hopkins knocked out De La Hoya in the ninth round last September at the MGM, and Taylor stopped Edouard in the third round in February in Los Angeles.