McCullagh sure victory will propel him towards title tilt

TYRONE McCullagh is closing in on a title shot and believes that a win over Tom Tran tonight could open all the right doors.

Headlining the ‘Danger at the Devenish’ show, McCullagh views his clash with fellow unbeaten prospect Tran as the type of fight the fans want to see.

“Undefeated fighters going up against each other is the way boxing should be,” said McCullagh.

“I’ve been wanting to step up and Tran hasn’t lost a round in his career yet.

“He’ll have everything against him, being the away fighter, but I relish being an underdog in fights myself.

“I’d fight anywhere and I’m always looking for an opportunity.

“I spoke to Matchroom prospect Joe Ham, and he would be up for a Celtic title fight, but that would need to be done on a big show.”

The Derry southpaw was unable to fully enjoy his last outing at the Devenish when opponent Craig Derbyshire got disqualified.

“I think he wanted out of there because I was going to put him away in a couple of rounds anyway,” said McCullagh.

Paddy Gallagher returns to action after his IBO Continental title shot fell away with July’s Frampton-Gutierrez show.

“Instead of sitting around getting fat and messing about I got a good camp out of it, so you have to take the positives,” said Gallagher.

‘Pat Man’ remains confident that he can snare a crack at the British welterweight title, but he first needs to get past Hungarian Gergo Vari in an undercard six-rounder.

“This is a keep-busy fight but I’m not looking past him, even though I’m the home fighter and expected to do the business. I fought two Scottish boys backto-back and stopped them both. I showed against Gary Murray that I can throw a lot of shots and still keep going late on.”

Conrad Cummings has his first fight since parting ways with Cyclone Promotions.

The Coalisland puncher takes on journeyman Norbert Szekeres.

This will be the second time Cummings has mixed with Szekeres having defeated the Hungarian over six rounds in 2014.

Former Cummings opponent Alfredo Meli gets a run-out after nine months out of the ring when he takes on South African Jade Karam.

A rematch between Meli and Cummings would appear a natural next step for both men after the pair fought to a draw for the Celtic title in 2015.

Padraig McCrory will push aside the disappointment of having his last two bouts cancelled when he faces Michael Mora.

“It’s been nearly six months since my last fight so I’m ready for this one,” said McCrory.

“Sparring with the likes of Tommy McCarthy, Steven Ward and Hosea Burton means that I’m learning every day,” added McCrory. Ambition: Tyrone McCullagh is out to extend unbeaten record