Columnist Dean Juipe: Las Vegan McCullough visits his native Belfast

DEAN JUIPEis a Las Vegas Sun sportswriter. His office phone number is 259-4084. He can be reached on the Internet at [email protected]

The phone rang and on the other end was Wayne McCullough, returning a message from the previous day.

There was a hollow sound on the line, as if the caller was a continent away.

Turns out he was.

"I'm in Belfast," McCullough said, referring to his birthplace in Northern Ireland. "It's sort of a rough time to be here. There's been a lot of fighting and the streets are being closed and cars and stuff are being set on fire.

"Hopefully it will settle down."

A Las Vegas resident for five years, McCullough is using a break in his schedule to visit his homeland with his wife and newborn daughter. Trouble is, their visit is coinciding with another round of religious unrest in Northern Ireland.

Violence between the Protestant Orangemen and the Catholics has escalated, with the province closing down many streets and attempting to circumvent and/or protect a planned Orangemen parade through Catholic neighborhoods.

McCullough, a former WBC bantamweight champion with a 22-1 record, is trying to stay out of the squabble despite his prominence throughout Ireland. A 1992 Olympic silver medalist, he's among that country's favorite sons.

"I'm back to my roots," he said. "It's pretty interesting to be here and aside from the problems in the streets, it's been a lot of fun.

"I've been working out with my old amateur trainer and seeing a lot of people I haven't seen in a long time."

He doesn't have a fight scheduled but is looking to get back in the ring in August and September, leading to a fight with WBC champ Erik Morales.

"Wayne's the mandatory (challenger), so when he's ready to pursue it we'll get the fight made," said McCullough's co-manager, Dan Goossen. "The key now is to get him active and get him ready."

A McCullough-Morales fight isn't on the immediate schedule, however, as Morales has a Sept. 12 bout in Tijuana with Junior Jones. McCullough doesn't understand how Jones beat him to that title try.

"Jones gets knocked out in his last fight (by Kennedy McKinney) and he gets rewarded with a title fight?" McCullough said quizzically. "What can you do? I would have taken that fight simply because I'm not getting any younger."

He turned 28 Tuesday.

He was also taken aback to hear his promoter, America Presents, has signed WBC featherweight champion Luisito Espinoza of the Philippines to a promotional agreement with an eye on an Espinoza vs. McCullough fight down the road.

"I'm always the last to know," McCullough said of the news. "I could see fighting him in another year, but I want to win the super bantamweight championship first."

The Professor

There was no hollow sound on the line as Azumah Nelson called from San Antonio. In fact, "The Professor" made himself perfectly clear.

"This will be the last time," he said of taking on Jesse James Leija for the fourth time, as they headline a pay-per-view card Saturday at the Alamodome. "I'm going to knock him out and finish him off once and for all."

Nelson, 39-4-2, and Leija, 34-3-2, are 1-1-1 in their head-to-head battles. The first bout ended in a draw, Leija was a decision winner in fight No. 2, and Nelson won by TKO-6 in the third meeting.

Nelson's reactions to each: "I thought I'd won the first fight, but I just sort of said 'Oh well" when they said it was a draw; the decision in the second fight took me by surprise; I felt good and lucky after the third one."

Nelson, 39 although he has more than one birth date listed in various record books, has not fought since losing his WBC junior lightweight title to Genaro Hernandez 16 months ago. He says he doesn't intend to lose again.

"I'm never going to lose another fight," the native of Ghana said, "and I'm going to retire from boxing with only four losses."

He and Leija are scheduled for 10 rounds at 130 pounds.

"I'll retire if I lose," Nelson said. "But I really don't think that will happen."

Ruelas revival?

Can the Ruelas brothers mount a comeback? The answer may be known soon.

"We definitely have goals of each becoming world champions again," Gabe Ruelas said from San Antonio, where he'll face journeyman Troy Dorsey on the Nelson-Leija undercard. "We might never get there or get an opportunity, but it seems like we're very close. I'd say we're each a couple of steps away."

Gabe, 130 pounds, is 44-4 and should have an easy time with the feisty but cut-prone Dorsey.

Rafael, 140, is 52-3 and just signed to face fellow ex-champ Kostya Tszyu Aug. 15 in Australia.

Wins in these upcoming fights could position one or both of the Ruelas brothers for another title try. (Gabe defeated Nelson for the WBC title but later lost it to Leija; Rafael, then fighting at 135, took the IBF title from Freddie Pendleton but then was beaten in two devastating rounds by Oscar De La Hoya.)

"It's great that we each won one (championship)," Gabe said. "But we're looking to make it two."

At the very least, he isn't ready to quit.

"I've fought a lot of hard fights but I'm to the point where I only want to fight the best," he said. "Even if it's not a championship fight, I want to continue fighting good guys."

Dorsey may or may not measure up in that respect.

"I have to win and win impressively, not only for the people but for my own self-respect," Ruelas said. "I have to show I still have what it takes to be a world champion.

"At least I know what Dorsey will do: He'll stay in the trenches and trade punches. I don't think it'll go the distance."

No Tyson news

Today marks the one-year anniversary of Mike Tyson having his boxing license lifted by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Tyson could reapply for his license as early as today but is not expected to do so immediately.

"We just haven't gotten that far," an adviser, Shelly Finkel, told the Associated Press when asked about the delay in reapplying.

When Tyson does reapply, the commission will set a hearing date within the month. When the hearing is held, the five-member NSAC will listen to statements and vote on reinstating Tyson, with the majority prevailing.

Tyson is expected to resume his boxing career this fall.

Around the ring

Naseem Hamed will fight in Las Vegas Oct. 31 at a still undisclosed location, although the opponent will not be the previously announced Kennedy McKinney. "No, it'll be someone else," said Hamed's representative, Sterling McPherson. ... IBF junior lightweight champ Robert Garcia had his contract go to arbitration before the Nevada State Athletic Commission and McPherson prevailed Monday. "The commission listened to the evidence and then stood up and did the right thing," McPherson said. He added that he would take Garcia to Top Rank to co-promote the young champion in an effort to boost his appeal. ... Local junior lightweight Diego Corrales upped his record to 22-0 with a TKO-7 over Benito Rodriguez last Sunday in Indio, Calif. ... On that same card, WBA super bantamweight champion Enrique Sanchez was fortunate to get a draw with journeyman Ricardo Medina in a nontitle bout. But with Sanchez suffering a deep facial cut, it appears as if he's off the Sept. 18 card in Las Vegas that headlines with De La Hoya vs. Julio Cesar Chavez. ... Look for IBF junior middleweight champ Yory Boy Campas to take Sanchez's spot on that card, with Oba Carr the likely opponent and the winner advancing to face De La Hoya Nov. 21 in Las Vegas. ... A Keith Mullings vs. Terry Norris rematch is tentative for that same Nov. 21 show. ... The Mirage is working on an Aug. 2 card, perhaps with Danny Romero on top. ... Former NABF super bantamweight champ Rudy Zavala was killed over the weekend in Irvine, Calif., when he was struck by a car as he attempted to cross a freeway.

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