Pocket Rocket to box on

McCullough: back in training

After the bout I was being very hard on myself and told the crowd in attendance that 'This might be my last fight.' Unfortunately everyone assumed that meant I was retiring but I never intended to retire that night.

Wayne McCullough
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Wayne McCullough says he is NOT retiring, contrary to reports.

The former WBC bantamweight champion was said to have called it quits in the ring after retiring on his stool six rounds into a Cayman Islands bout with Juan Ruiz.

But McCullough, a columnist for skysports.com, says he has no intention of hanging up the gloves.

"Contrary to press reports, I haven't officially announced my retirement although lately many journalists have felt the need to hang up my gloves for me," he said.

"One of my problems is that I wear my heart on my sleeve and tend to say what's on my mind. Sometimes that gets me in trouble. And that's what happened on June 20th following my withdrawal from a fight that I was winning against Juan Ruiz in the Cayman Islands.

"After the bout I was being very hard on myself and told the crowd in attendance that 'This might be my last fight.' Unfortunately everyone assumed that meant I was retiring but I never intended to retire that night."

Instead, the man from Belfast says he is already contemplating his next bout.

He has lost four of his last five fights but having won the WBC strap at bantamweight, challenged for the world super-bantamweight title no fewer than six times and taken on the likes of Naseem Hamed, Scott Harrison and Erik Morales, says he went straight back to training.

"I have always said I would think long and hard about that decision before I made any formal announcement," he said. "However for the past week I've been reading career eulogies on every website and in every newspaper you can imagine.

"I'm extremely grateful that journalists (many of whom are my dear friends) have felt the need to write such moving tributes to me but please wait until I make the official announcement," he said.

"I'm back in training and ready for my next fight. I want to let you all know that the Pocket Rocket could be back in the ring soon!"