Boxing WBC super-bantamweight title Low-key on this side of the Atlantic and support act for the middleweight bout between Bernard Hopkins and Jermaine Taylor at the MGM in Las Vegas tomorrow, still Wayne McCullough believes his career can burn bright for a few more years.
The 35-year-old punching machine meets Oscar Larios, seven years his junior, for another crack at the WBC super-bantamweight title, a credible belt. McCullough's confidence comes from their fight earlier this year, which he lost on points but won in his own head.
Enough debate surrounded the decision (118-110, 118-110, 116-112) to fuel the rematch, one you suspect Larios would have refused had he believed McCullough was a genuine threat to his crown.
Still the Belfastman, who has lived in Las Vegas for more than 12 years, goes into his seventh world title fight, having won one in Japan and lost the others.
Larios, a typically tough Mexican from Guadalajara, should again face a barrage - McCullough will throw about 150 punches per round. This time, however, the Irishman will be conscious of not blowing out. In February he seemed to drop the tempo in the later rounds.
McCullough, against the likes of Erik Morales, Naseem Hamed and Daniel Zaragoza, has always enhanced his reputation in defeat. But failure here would surely bring retirement closer.
Yet earlier this week, he was as positive as ever, purring about his preparation under Freddie Roach, convinced he is still championship material.
It is prudent to remember that when McCullough stepped into the ring against Yasuei Yakushiji in Nagoya in 1995, not many thought he would return with the WBC bantamweight world title.
