“Something wasn’t quite right with me” – Honest Gary Cully lifts lid on Felix loss
Gary Cully says he was looking so far past Jose Felix Jr he could see beyond the 3Arena victory lap and into the after-party.
The Sarto stylist was teed up for a massive breakout night when he provided chief support to Katie Taylor in Dublin’s 3 Arena on May 20th.
However, he suffered a first career defeat at the dangerous gloves of Felix Jr in the precursor to the massive main event.
The Kildare native has the chance to get his career back on track when he faces what is being billed as a make-or-break clash with English champion Reece Mould at the same venue this Saturday night – and says it’s strictly business going into the clash.
The now Rotunda-trained lightweight says he overlooked the Mexican, who was previously outpointed by Tyrone McKenna, and believing the hype that three-step-up knockout wins generated he expected an easy night’s work.
“Something wasn’t quite right with me,” admitted Cully. “I didn’t really know it at the time, but my mind wasn’t fully focused. Everything was just planned for the party afterwards, the celebrations and reflecting on what a week and what a show it had been. I took my eye off having a fight in front of me.
“Probably being back in Dublin and back in Ireland I fell into that trap as well of ‘The Diva, Gary Cully’ – Gary is the guy and Gary is the man. I probably fell into that trap a little bit as well and started believing my own hype a little bit.
“I wanted to impress and thought I’d just f***ing walk through this kid. I just wasn’t fully focused, wasn’t fully focused on Jose Felix and I paid the price. This time it isn’t about a celebration or a party like last time was supposed to be.”
Things are different this time assures the southpaw talent. Cully admits learnt some tough lessons the hard way but notes they are learnt and, as a result, his mistakes won’t be repeated.
“I’ve been through some ups and downs in my life, but that loss was definitely the hardest. It felt like the world was ending at one point. I thought it was, but it taught me lots of lessons. I think I’ve learnt a lot from it as well. I’m looking forward to showing that this Saturday.”
Cully vs. Mould is part of a huge night of boxing in Dublin, undisputed Super-Lightweight World Champion Chantelle Cameron (18-0, 8 KOs) puts her crowns on the line against Irish great Katie Taylor (22-1, 6 KOs) Limerick Welterweight Paddy Donovan (11-0, 8 KOs) meets Danny Ball (13-1-1, 6 KOs) for the WBA Continental Title, Dublin Heavyweight Thomas Carty (6-0, 5 KOs) takes on Dan Garber (5-1, 1 KO) in an eight-round contest, Australia’s Interim WBC Featherweight World Champion Skye Nicolson (8-0) defends her crown against Sweden’s Lucy Wildheart (10-2, 4 KOs), Manchester’s former Super-Featherweight World Title challenger Zelfa Barrett (29-2, 16 KOs) fights Spain’s Costin Ion (10-4-2, 5 KOs) over eight rounds, Belfast’s John Cooney (8-0, 2 KOs) and Dublin’s own Liam Gaynor (10-4-0) meet for the Celtic Featherweight crown, as fellow Dublin fighter Emmet Brennan (1-0) battles Limerick’s Jamie Morrisey (5-0-1, 1 KO) for the Celtic Light-Heavyweight Title, while Guildford Super-Featherweight debutant Giorgio Visioli opens the show against Lee Anthony Sibley (3-1, 1 KO).
