'Rocket' lands with a thud
LAS VEGAS -- The ''Pocket Rocket" had his flight to the WBC super bantamweight title grounded by ringside physician Margaret Goodman last night with a whispered assist from trainer Freddie Roach.
Wayne McCullough cut the eyes of WBC champion Oscar Larios early but eventually began to take too much punishment for Goodman to allow him to continue after the 10th round. By then, McCullough had not only been hit nearly 500 times, but was no longer throwing many punches.
As Goodman came into the ring to examine a protesting McCullough, Roach whispered to Goodman to stop the bout. She probably didn't need his concurrence but it only made the decision easier for her.
According to CompuBox statistics, McCullough was outlanded, 208 to 77, over the last four rounds, a disparity that not only left McCullough's forehead red and swollen but convinced Goodman to step in when his once relentless pace seemed to slow noticeably around Round 8 and never again picked up.
''I thought the doctor made the right call," McCullough (27-6) said sadly. ''I felt sluggish tonight. I slowed down after the third or fourth round. I'm very disappointed."
McCullough and Larios had engaged in a brutal slugfest in February in which Larios again got the better of the former bantamweight champion but the challenger's heart and constant willingness to come forward and throw punches forced a rematch.
Larios (56-3, 36 KOs), however, paid a price himself for accepting McCullough's second challenge. His left eye was cut in the first round by a slicing punch and his right eye was badly gashed in the third round by an inadvertent head-butt. That gash had Larios bleeding badly for several rounds but the work of cutman Miguel Diaz eventually closed it enough that it never became a serious problem for the champion.
In the end, neither was McCullough, who was put on indefinite suspension and sent to nearby Valley Hospital for a CAT scan after the fight.
At the time of the stoppage, Larios held a wild lead. Judge Tom Kaczmarek had given all 10 rounds to Larios while judges Guido Cavalleri and Dalby Shirley had awarded McCullough only the third round. That scoring was similar to the wide gulf the judges found in their first fight, even though McCullough had been competitive in every round.
Last night, in what may be the final appearance of his 12-year career, McCullough, 34, was competitive for only half a fight before it had become obvious that The Pocket Rocket was no longer able to soar.
Earlier in the evening, former welterweight champion Vernon Forrest returned after a two-year layoff caused by a string of injuries to stop Sergio Rios (8-2) at 2:43 of the second round. Forrest (36-2, 27 KOs) said his left arm still hurt and he was unable to use his jab as powerfully as he hoped but ''It felt good to be back in there. I wanted to throw the jab harder but I couldn't." . . . Undefeated former Olympian Vicente Escobedo improved his record to 5-0 with five KOs when he stopped Edgar Vargas (9-2) . . . WBO junior bantamweight champion Fernando Montiel (31-1-1) won a unanimous but unpopular decision over Everth Briceno (21-3), despite often not pressing the action and being regularly countered.
