Proposed Gary Cully v Paul Hyland Jr falls through
Top Irish lightweight prospect Gary Cully [5(2)-0] has revealed that he accepted a proposed fight with Paul Hyland Jr only for the Belfast boxer’s team to turn the offer down.
The Naas southpaw is just five fights into his career and has not yet been scheduled to go beyond four rounds but is held in extremely high regard in Irish boxing circles.
So much so, his team were willing to allow the 22-year-old to take a near unprecedented jump up in class and go in with Hyland [18(7)-1(1)] who is coming off the back of a British title.
Offered and accepted my first big domestic dust up yesterday. Keep your eyes peeled 👀 The sort of fights I’ve been waiting for to start climbing the ladder. #READY #TeamMTKGlobal
— Gary Cully (@BoxerCully) August 17, 2018
While unconfirmed, it is believed the bout was planned for the October 5th Belfast BoxNation show at the Titanic Exhibition Centre.
However, the offer for the fight was turned down by Hyland’s team, with Cully confirming when questioned online yesterday.
The ensuing social media talk led to Lagmore’s Hyland revealing that he had not heard of the offer but put forward a potential reason why his manager Mark Dunlop rejected the offer.
I fight anyone I’m told to fight I don’t care who it is, my team pick what’s best. Keep winning I’m sure we’ll meet when he’s earned it and brings something to table that benefits me 👊
— Hylo (@PaulhylandJR) August 20, 2018
While the idea was an exiting one, 28-year-old Hyland makes a valid point regarding the risk-reward ratio presented by an away corner fight versus Cully – who is yet to box on live TV having seen a June fight with Hungarian dangerman Zoltan Szabo fall through.
‘Hylo’, who is scheduled to box at the Europa Hotel in Belfast on September October 13th, also last fought in June when he was stopped inside a round by British champion Lewis Ritson but he remains very much in the picture for domestic titles.
With Ritson set to vacate, Hyland joins Scotty Cardle, Commonwealth champ Joe Cordina and the winners of the Atif Shafiq v Andy Townend and Robbie Barrett v Matty Fagan bouts as a contender for a shot at the Lonsdale belt – and jumping into a clash with an elite, non-UK prospect does not fit into this route
For Cully, while frustrating, the past week has seen his ambition and the regard in which he is held underlined and the Kildare fighter is continuing his search for a big domestic bout for October 5th.
The Pete Taylor-trained fighter is promising an announcement of such a fight this week.
Photo Credit: Chris Scott – AMMG Media
