Gary Cully Explained

Gary Cully
Nickname:The Diva
Weight:
Height:6 ft 2 in
Birth Date:1996 1, df=y
Birth Place:Naas, Ireland
Style:Southpaw
Boxrec:809347
Total:19
Wins:18
Ko:10
Losses:1

Gary Cully (born 26 January 1996) is an Irish professional boxer who has held the Irish lightweight title since 2020. As an amateur he won a gold medal at the 2013 European Youth Championships and fought at the 2014 Youth World Championships.

Amateur career

Cully began boxing at the age of seven at St David's Boxing Club in Naas.[1] He won gold in the flyweight event of the 2013 European Youth Championships in Rotterdam, defeating Masud Yusifzada of Azerbaijan in the final and taking home the Best Boxer Award.[2] [3] He then represented his country at the 2014 AIBA Youth World Championships in Sofia, making his debut in the bantamweight class.[1] He lost his first match by split decision to Ukrainian Voldymyr Fedora,[4] who would eventually fall to Peter McGrail in the quarter-finals.

He was also a six-time underage Irish national champion and won the 2016 Haringey Box Cup in London, being named Best Overall Boxer in the process. Cully was defeated by future pro stablemate David Oliver Joyce in the quarter-finals of the 2016 Irish Elite Championships which ended any hopes of attempting to qualify for the Rio Olympics.[5]

Having had ambitions of qualifying for the 2020 Olympics, Cully would become disillusioned with amateur boxing after rule changes and controversies such as compatriot Michael Conlan's loss to Vladimir Nikitin at Rio 2016.

Professional career

In the summer of 2017, Cully signed with MTK Global and turned professional, linking up with trainer Pete Taylor - father of Katie.[6] He made his debut on 16 September 2017, stopping Hungarian journeyman Gyula Tallosi inside a minute at the Devenish Complex in Belfast.[7] A busy start to his pro career saw Cully then fight twice at the SSE Arena in Belfast, scoring impressive wins over durable Englishmen Josh Thorne and Kane Baker.[8]

Following two more undercard wins in Belfast in the first half of 2018, Cully began to step up his level of opposition. First he would score a statement third-round stoppage over game Wearsider Jordan Ellison on 5 October 2018 at the Titanic Exhibition Centre before knocking out Tanzanian Mohammed Kambuluta (18–5, 7 KO) in the first round at the same venue on 7 December 2018 to improve to 7–0 as a pro.[9] [10]

The lilywhite had an uneventful 2019, only fighting twice due to a knuckle gash and missing out on a clash with French champion Renald Garrido as a result.[11] After months of looking for a challenger for the Irish lightweight title,[12] he finally won the vacant national belt on 1 February 2020 when he faced unbeaten local prospect Joe Fitzpatrick (10–0, 7 KO) at the Ulster Hall in Belfast. Cully would stop the 2014 Commonwealth Games silver medalist by first-round TKO for his first title.[11] [13]

Cully was expected to face Kieran Gething on 26 August 2020. Gething later withdrew from the bout, and was replaced by Craig Woodruff, who stepped in on 18-days notice.[14] Cully won the fight on points.[15] Six months later, on 13 March 2021, Cully faced Viktor Kotochigov for the vacant WBO European lightweight title.[16] He made quick work of the Kazakh, as he won the fight by a second-round technical knockout.[17] Cully faced Viorel Simion on 25 June 2021, in his second and final fight of the year.[18] Simion retired from the bout at the end of the third round.[19]

Professional boxing record

18Win17–1Reece Mould1025 Nov 2023
17Loss16–1José Félix Jr.TKO3 (10), 20 May 2023
16Win16–0Wilfredo FloresTKO3 (10), 18 Feb 2023
15Win15–0Jaouad BelmehdiTKO1 (10), 29 Oct 2022
14Win14–0Miguel VázquezKO5 (10), 12 Mar 2022
13Win13–0Viorel Simion3 (10), 25 Jun 2021
12Win12–0Viktor KotochigovTKO2 (10), 13 Mar 2021
11Win11–0Craig WoodruffPTS826 Aug 2020
10Win10–0Joe FitzpatrickTKO1 (10), 1 Feb 2020
9Win9–0Danny MendozaPTS611 Oct 2019
9Win8–0Brayan MairenaPTS629 Mar 2019
7Win7–0Mohammed Kambuluta1 (8), 7 Dec 2018
6Win6–0Jordan EllisonTKO3 (6), 5 Oct 2018
5Win5–0Reynaldo CajinaPTS430 Jun 2018
4Win4–0Pal OlahPTS410 Feb 2018
3Win3–0Kane Baker418 Nov 2017
2Win2–0Josh ThorneTKO3 (4), 21 Oct 2017
1Win1–0Gyula Tallosi1 (4), 16 Sep 2017

Notes and References

  1. News: Irish Youth ready to delight Sofia. AIBA. 12 April 2014. 3 June 2020.
  2. News: Gary Cully triumphs at European Youth Championships in the Netherlands. RTÉ. 18 August 2013. 3 June 2020.
  3. News: Rotterdam's ten heroes – EYBC 2013 From AIBA Point of View. eubcboxing.org. 20 August 2013. 3 June 2020.
  4. News: Irish coach blasts ref as Cully loses out. Irish Examiner. Bernard. O’Neill. 16 April 2014. 3 June 2020.
  5. Web site: Irish National Championships results. amateur-boxing.strefa.pl. 29 June 2021.
  6. News: Gary Cully turns Pro. boxing.com. Cain. Bradley. 18 July 2017. 3 June 2020.
  7. News: "I'm the hardest-hitting lightweight out there" – Gary Cully promising power following debut KO. irish-boxing.com. Joe. O'Neill. 18 September 2017. 3 June 2020.
  8. News: Gary Cully opens big Belfast show in style. irish-boxing.com. Joe. O'Neill. 21 October 2017. 3 June 2020.
  9. News: Gary Cully Impresses in Belfast as Conrad Cummings Claims European Glory. Boxing Insider. Oliver. McManus. 9 December 2018. 3 June 2020.
  10. News: Gary Cully says strength is improving all the time. worldboxingnews.net. 28 March 2019. 3 June 2020.
  11. News: Gary Cully destroys Joe Fitzpatrick inside ONE ROUND to win Irish Lightweight Title. irish-boxing.com. Joe. O'Neill. 1 February 2020. 3 June 2020.
  12. News: Gary Cully wants European title and claims all Irish lightweights are running scared. British Boxing News. 30 August 2018. 3 June 2020.
  13. News: Gary Cully stops Joe Fitzpatrick in first round of Irish title clash. Belfast Live. Gareth. Fullerton. 1 February 2020. 3 June 2020.
  14. Web site: Kirwan . Chris . Craig Woodruff steps in late to face Irish hope Gary Cully . southwalesargus.co.uk . 9 February 2022 . 8 August 2020.
  15. Web site: Powell . Dewi . Craig Woodruff comes close against clever Gary Cully who wins on points . boxing-wales.com . 9 February 2022.
  16. Web site: Gary Cully Faces Viktor Kotochigov For WBO European Title This Friday . boxen247.com . 9 February 2022 . 9 March 2021.
  17. Web site: Boxing Results: Lewis Crocker And Gary Cully Shine In Title Fights . boxingnews24.com . 9 February 2022 . 13 March 2021.
  18. Web site: Undefeated Irish sensation Gary Cully steps up against former WBC International champion Viorel Simion next . britishboxingnews.co.uk . 9 February 2022 . 17 June 2021.
  19. Web site: O'Neill . Joe . Class Cully CRUSHES Viorel Simion in three rounds . irish-boxing.com . 9 February 2022 . 25 June 2021.