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WATCH: Wayne McCullough v Arturo Gatti – First Round Stoppage

Back in 1988 at the Guild Hall in Derry, two tiny teenagers met in the ring for a ferocious two and a half minutes of fighting.

Belfast’s Wayne McCullough – who would go on to win Olympic silver and the WBC bantamweight title – took on Canadian Arturo Gatti (RIP) – who himself would go on to win the IBF super feather and WBC light welter titles and was a posthumous inductee into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

Back then however the pair were just 17 and 16 year old Olympic hopefuls.

Going to war from the first bell, ‘The Pocket Rocket’ would force Gatti into taking two standing counts following relentless barrages, and the Canadian’s corner would throw the towel in afterwards.

The fight was recorded, but footage was long thought to be lost. However, McCullough himself got his hands on the tape and has uploaded it to Youtube, and it is well worth a watch to see two legends slug it out.

Watch Wayne McCullough v Arturo Gatti in full below:

Joe O'Neill

Reporting on Irish boxing the past five years. Work has appeared on irish-boxing.com, Boxing News, the42.ie, and local and national media. Provide live ringside updates, occasional interviews, and special features on the future of Irish boxing. email: joneill6@tcd.ie

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