Boxing sees many physical specimens, Gary Cully goes above and beyond. The 6ft 3in lightweight towers over many heavyweights, let alone those competing at 135 pounds.
Many fighters, especially heavyweights, exaggerate their real height. I stand at 6ft 2in personally, I can assure you the up and coming Irish knockout artist rose above me by at least an inch. Away from his physical prowess, Cully (16-0, 10 KOs) has been dispatching of his opponents in spectacular fashion under the Matchroom banner of late. He finally heads home this Saturday on the Katie Taylor Vs Chantelle Cameron undercard.
“I’m built for it, they call me a freak of nature.” Cully said of his size in an exclusive interview for ProBox TV News. “I carry a lot of muscle and not a lot of body fat, I believe I was built for boxing. I carry and make the weight quite easy. I am a big lightweight, I’m not just tall at the weight I am a powerful force. I walk around at 150 pounds, which isn’t a lot if you are a fighter. I do a cut like every fighter, but it is not a struggle. I just take out a little bit of water and follow a plan. I haven’t struggled yet, I will be at lightweight for the foreseeable. I’m feeling good at the weight and I’m obviously looking forward to it.”
Cully comes off five straight knockout victories, the last two being undefeated opponents. Tomorrow night he takes on Mexican veteran, Jose Felix (39-6-1, 30 KOs).
“He calls himself a tough Mexican warrior.” Cully said. “I saw him fight Tyrone McKenna in Belfast a couple of years ago. He went to war in a Fight of the Year contender, he’s got a great style for me, it is going to be fireworks on Saturday night.”
Ireland’s return to big-time boxing has Cully as excited as the rest of the nation.
“We are back! It has been a long long time.” Cully explained. “I grew up watching Bernard Dunne 15 years ago when I just started boxing. It’s good to be home, I can’t wait to experience the atmosphere in the 3Arena. Sharing a card with Katie Taylor is going to be a huge experience. She has been paving the way and creating opportunities for myself and other Irish fighters for a number of years. In terms of boxing style, I grew up watching Floyd Mayweather. He was a big inspiration, I also loved Prince Naseem Hamed, I took a bit of his style too. Paul The Punisher Williams too, he was 6 foot and was a welterweight. They called him a freak of nature too, he used to throw over 1000 punches in a 12 round fight. I like the flair of Naseem Hamed mixed with the intensity of Paul Williams.
“I’m 27, it is crunch time! I want to create a fanbase back here in 2023. I want to come back to Dublin and headline my own shows, and all these fans that are coming out for Katie I know are coming for me too. I really want to bring them onto the diva train and bring them along my journey. Eventually I want to go to the States in 2024 for these big fights, because all the big names are across the pond. Shakur Stevenson, Devin Haney, Ryan Garcia and Gervonta Davis are all over there and I want those big fights. So, that is where I need to go next year.”
