Tyrone McCullagh defends his WBO European title to Alvaro Rodriguez
WBO European super-bantamweight champion Tyrone McCullagh is enjoying his new status too much to allow maiden challenger Alvaro Rodriguez to dethrone him.
The undefeated ‘White Chocolate’ (12-0, 6 KOs) takes on the Spaniard (9-2-1, 1 KO) on the #MTKFightNight at Eagles Community Arena in Newcastle – live on iFL TV – and far from resting on his laurels, McCullagh is more motivated than ever.
The talented southpaw, trained by Danny Vaughan, said: “There’s a lot of drive with any title fight but this is a very different situation to fighting for a vacant title now.
“I’m the champion and he’s coming to dethrone me. It’s not going to happen because I’ve worked far too hard in this camp. The belt stays with me on Friday.
“This camp, I’ve worked on relaxing a bit more. I don’t want to be a million miles an hour all the time. It works for me but I can save energy and be a bit more cute. I believe you’ll see a more relaxed version of me now.
“It’s up to my management how many times I defend this belt. I love having it and being European champion but I do want a world title shot sooner rather than later so this could be my last defence.”
Joining McCullagh on a busy bill at a sensational newly-built arena are north-east boxing heroes such as Simon Vallily, Troy Williamson, Darren Reay, Chad Ellis, Jay Hughes and Adam Gair.
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