Tyrone McCullagh (born 9 September 1990) is an Irish former

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...

. As an

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

, he won bronze at the 2010 European Championships and represented Northern Ireland at the

2010 Commonwealth Games The 2010 Commonwealth Games (Hindi: 2010 राष्ट्रमण्डल खेल), officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Delhi 2010, was an international multi-sport event that was held in Delhi, India, f ...

where he reached the quarter-finals.

Personal life

McCullagh was born in

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...

. Away from boxing, he works as a mental health nurse and has acknowledged the work of the

NHS The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...

on his fight shorts. An outspoken

Irish nationalist Irish nationalism is a nationalist political movement which, in its broadest sense, asserts that the people of Ireland should govern Ireland as a sovereign state. Since the mid-19th century, Irish nationalism has largely taken the form of cu ...

, he has stated numerous times that he will not box for the British title despite being in a position to do so.

Amateur career

An amateur with Illies GG in

Donegal Donegal may refer to: County Donegal, Ireland * County Donegal, a county in the Republic of Ireland, part of the province of Ulster * Donegal (town), a town in County Donegal in Ulster, Ireland * Donegal Bay, an inlet in the northwest of Ireland b ...

and then Holy Family GG in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

, he won the Irish title in 2010 and would go on to claim bronze at the

European Championships The European Championships is a multi-sport tournament which brings together the existing European Championships of some of the continent's leading sports every four years. The inaugural edition in 2018 was staged by the host cities of Berlin, ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

that summer. A runner-up at National level twice more, as well as spending time in Kazakhstan as part of the

Astana Arlans 250px, LA Matadors vs. Moscow Dynamo in Hollywood, CA on 4 December 2011. Both amateur boxers compete without vests or head guards. The World Series of Boxing or WSB was an international boxing tournament that allowed amateur boxers to compete p ...

World Series of Boxing 250px, LA Matadors vs. Moscow Dynamo in Hollywood, CA on 4 December 2011. Both amateur boxers compete without vests or head guards. The World Series of Boxing or WSB was an international boxing tournament that allowed amateur boxers to compete p ...

team.

Professional career

Turning professional having been angered by the politics of the amateur side of the sport, McCullagh made his professional debut on 25 July 2015, in

Ellesmere Port Ellesmere Port ( ) is a port town in the Cheshire West and Chester borough in Cheshire, England. Ellesmere Port is on the south eastern edge of the Wirral Peninsula, north of Chester, south of Birkenhead, southwest of Runcorn and south of ...

, where he scored a second-round

knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, a ...

(KO) of Tamas Laska. Following 10 wins, and a move down in weight to

super-bantamweight Super bantamweight, also known as junior featherweight, is a weight class in professional boxing, contested from and up to . There were attempts by boxing promoters in the 1920s to establish this weight class, but few sanctioning organizations or ...

, he secured a shot at the Celtic title versus Scottish champ

Joe Ham Joseph Ham (born 20 June 1991) is a Scottish professional boxer. As an amateur, he competed at the 2013 World Championships, as well as two European Championships and two Commonwealth Games. Early years Born and raised in the Gorbals, Ham began ...

. McCullagh defeated Ham in Belfast on 30 June 2018, surviving a knockdown in the third round to otherwise dominate the Glaswegian. McCullagh would then beat English champion Josh Kennedy on 5 October 2018 to add the

WBO The World Boxing Organization (WBO) is an organization which sanctions professional boxing bouts. It is recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) as one of the four major world championship groups, alongside the World Boxing ...

European title to his collection, a belt he would subsequently defend versus Spanish champion Alvaro Rodriguez. McCullagh returned to

featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, this ...

in his next fight to enter

The Golden Contract The Golden Contract is a professional boxing tournament created by boxing management and promotions company MTK Global. The tournament is held across three weight-classes with eight fighters in each class, competing in 10 x 3 minute rounds. The wi ...

competition and he would win his quarter-final bout on 4 October 2019 at the

York Hall The York Hall, officially known as York Hall Leisure Centre, is a multi-purpose indoor arena and leisure complex in Bethnal Green, London, and is situated on Old Ford Road. The building opened in 1929 with a capacity of 1,200 and is now an inter ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, versus late replacement Razaq Najib. McCullagh was subsequently defeated by

Ryan Walsh Ryan Walsh (born 18 May 1986) is a British professional boxer. He has held the British featherweight title since 2015, having previously held the English super-bantamweight title in 2011, and has challenged once for the European featherweight t ...

in the semi-finals at the same venue on 21 February 2020.

Professional boxing record

References

External links

* Living people 1990 births Irish male boxers Boxers at the 2010 Commonwealth Games Boxers from Derry (city) Super-bantamweight boxers Featherweight boxers Male boxers from Northern Ireland Commonwealth Games competitors for Northern Ireland {{Ireland-boxing-bio-stub