McCullough calls out Dunne again
17 September 2009 – By Cormac Campbell
Former WBC bantamweight champion Wayne McCullough still dreams of an all-Irish clash with Bernard Dunne, but believes the Dubliner does not want to make the fight.
WBA super-bantamweight king Dunne returns to action on Saturday, September 26 with an O2 showdown vs Poonsawat Kratingdaenggym. But Belfast native McCullough believes he should be at the front of the queue for a voluntary defence in spite of barriers.
“Brian Peters says I need to get a warm up before I could get a fight with Bernard but he says the economy is bad,” he told irish-boxing.com.
“He hasn’t made me an offer and I haven’t given him a figure I’d fight for so how does he know he can’t afford for me to fight over there?
“I told my promoter in the US that I’d even fight for free to prove I’ve still got it but he says the opponents are looking for too much money, so how can I get back into the ring?” he continued.
“Bernard will never fight me. I’ve told him that by text and even asked him to help me get a fight on his card. Needless to say, that hasn’t happened either.” McCullough has asked Dunne to look back in time to recall when he offered the young Dubliner an opportunity to test himself.
“Maybe Bernard remembers back to 1996 when we sparred before my fight with Jose Luis Bueno,” he said.
“I was dead making weight and he was an up and coming amateur ‘star’. My manager, trainer and I gave him the opportunity to get into the ring with me as a world champion but now he can’t return the favour.
“I keep saying that me, Brian and Bernard are all friends but this isn’t about friendship. This is business and it’s a fight the masses want to see. I’ve fought many friends over the years and we shake hands before we get into the ring and again when we get out. But inside those ropes it’s anyone’s fight.
“I don’t need a belt so win, lose or draw next week Bernard, let’s fight.”