Gary Cully KNOCKS OUT Belmehdi in 35 SECONDS
Gary Cully needed less than a minute to make a massive statement in London tonight.
The Kildare lightweight sent Jaoud Belmehdi down an out in just 35 seconds at the OVO Arena Wembley.
The opening bout of the DAZN portion of the broadcast, a short left from the long southpaw Cully sent his unbeaten French opponent down hard.
Belmehdi rose unsteadily and, after wobbling back into the ropes, referee Victor Loughlin correctly waved off the bout.
It was a belated Matchroom debut for the lilywhite who, eventually, linked up with Eddie Hearn’s promotional behemoth following his break-out stoppage win over former world champion Miguel Vazquez on the Wood-Conlan undercard in Nottingham back in March. While it was perhaps a less notable opponent here, the win was no less impressive for the Naas man.
From Bezier in the South of France, Belmehdi was something of an unheralded figure who came into the picture after a fight with Angel Fierro fell through. Hearn had publicly proposed the Mexican banger as an opening opponent for Cully while other names are also said to have turned down the fight. That said, 24-year-old Belmehdi is an unbeaten French champion and came into tonight’s clash off the back of an away win over German James Chereji. Cully, though, was a completely different proposition.
The Moroccan Bombardier came out aggressively but Sarto’s Cully instantly found his range and, when Belmehdi entered, the fight was over.
His latest knockout, Cully improves to 15(9)-0 while the shell-shocked Belmedhi falls to 16(7)-1(1)-3
Thoughts will immediately switch to what’s next for Cully. The hotshot has Katie Taylor Croke Park undercard aspirations although whether this will take place next – or indeed at all – remains to be seen. Meanwhile, proposed foe Fierro [19(15)-1(0)-2] scored his latest highlight-reel KO earlier this month on a Matchroom card in Mexico, and would look to be the obvious next step.
