Tyrone McCullagh gets up off the deck to claim title

Tyrone McCullagh got up off the floor to claim the BBBoC Celtic  super bantamweight title once held by Carl Frampton.

McCullagh versus Ham was built as one of four 50/50 fights on a terrific the Michael Conlan Homecoming card, but the Derry fighter finished a wide points winner.

McCullagh claimed the title thanks to a 97-92, 98-92, 98-92 scorecard.

Unlike he was for the two press conferences, Scot Joe Ham wasn’t a complete no show, he pressured McCullagh for the 10 rounds and always looked like he had a puncher’s chance.

In fact, at the tail end of the third Ham put a fighter, who he shared plenty of verbals with in the build-up, on the seat of his pants.

A right hand in the final 10 seconds of the stanza saw the well supported Derry man visit the canvas, only for McCullagh to recover and win in relative style.

‘White Chocolate’ never melted under the pressure and looked a class above his opponent. Boxing on the back foot, with superior footwork, timing and output McCullagh ended up a clear winner.

The title win moves McCullagh to 11(6)-0 and should see him become mandatory challenger for the British title and the winner of Jazza Dickens, who is his stablemate under Derry Mathews, and Martin Ward’s July 27th meeting.