Injury has forced exciting prospect Gary Cully [8(4)-0] to take a step down from his big step up.
The Kildare lightweight was due to face well-known French road warrior Renald Garrido [24(6)-22(0)-3] over eight rounds on the #MTKFightNight at the Ulster Hall in Belfast on Friday June 21st.
Garrido certainly represented the 22-year-old’s toughest test to date and looked to provide him with an opportunity to register a break out win live on ESPN+.
While his record is chequered, ‘Lionheart’ has upset previous and has given fighters from lightweight to welter tough fights. Having scored big wins over unbeaten former top amateurs Bradley Saunders and Daouda Sow, Garrido would win the French light welterweight title in 2016 – a belt he reclaimed last year.
Never one to be dominated or stopped, Garrido has given the likes of Tyrone McKenna and Frankie Gavin really close fights and has also been on the end of some dodgy decisions – losses to Cletus Seldin and Faith Keles in 2017 especially.
The French fighter, who also would have brought colour to the build up and thus more spotlight on the fight, looked the perfect opponent for an eager to kick on talent who has bemoaned the lack of domestic challengers in recent months.
However, MTK today confirmed the fight is off. Injury has forced the Pete Taylor trained fighter to withdraw from what was another eagerly anticipate clash on the undercard of Tyrone McKenna and Darragh Foley’s Dublin v Belfast derby.
Garrido will still provide opposition on an MTK show, but will appear in Glasgow against Lewis Benson a week later.
📋 UPDATE
Injury has forced @GaryCully to withdraw from his scheduled clash with @RenaldGarrido in Belfast on June 21.
‘The Diva’ will complete a short period of rehabilitation and be back to resume his rise at the first opportunity.#TeamMTKGlobal#MTKFightNight#Boxing
— MTK Global 🌍 (@MTKGlobal) June 6, 2019
It’s not the first time ‘The Diva’ has seen a step up called off at relatively late notice.
This time last year the Kildare man was denied a chance to impress against Zoltan Szabo on the Mick Conlan Homecoming undercard after the Hungarian dangerman pulled out.
The Naas lightweight went on to beat Nicaraguan Reynaldo Cajina on the card.
