Boxing Info: Cheryl McCullough Fighting Mad

In the buildup to her husband Wayne’s fight with opponent Juan Ruiz, scheduled for this Friday, June 20 in the Cayman Islands, Cheryl McCullough is furious over comments supposedly made by Ruiz on boxing websites.

Whether it was a misunderstanding or just plain hype, Cheryl McCullough, who also manages her former world champion/1992 Olympic Silver Medallist husband, will have none of it.

Not normally one to steal the spotlight from her legendary husband, who has proved more than capable of taking care of himself, Cheryl decided it was time to make like country-singing star Tammy Wynette and “Stand By Her Man” in order to set the record straight.

“First of all I don’t appreciate that Juan Ruiz has come here to the Cayman Islands and said he was disrespected by his idol,” said Cheryl. “He is a blatant liar if he says he extended his hand to Wayne in the hotel.

“And we did not see Larry Goossen at all. Wayne and I saw a guy walk past us in the hotel wearing a red and white striped shirt with one of the bellmen taking his bags up to the room. As we were walking along the hotel walkway we said ‘Hello’ to the bellman, as everyone here is very friendly.

“And we say ‘hello’ to everybody. And then Wayne said ‘hello’ to the other guy who was walking along and kind of looked at us. I didn’t think anything of it because I didn’t know Juan Ruiz, not to disrespect him, but I had only seen him one time before.

“After we walked past them, Wayne turned to me and said that ‘I think that was my opponent,” and I said ‘Really?’ and we kept on going and didn’t think anything of it. And then I read today that Ruiz said that Wayne ignored his attempts to introduce himself.

“That is not true. Wayne would NEVER do that. He has always respected every opponent he has ever fought. I can understand if he wants to create something to hype the fight, but not at the expense of Wayne’s reputation.

“Everything I have said is the truth,” Cheryl continued. “Wayne and I have been in this sport long enough that we don’t tell lies. Everybody knows who Wayne McCullough is. Wayne McCullough is the nice guy of the sport. He’s a clean-cut guy.

“Wayne McCullough would not ignore or disrespect Juan Ruiz or any other fighter or person for that matter. Wayne thinks he might have met him one time in Las Vegas, but didn’t remember. I have no problems with guys hyping the fight, but don’t tell lies about Wayne.”

On Wednesday, Ruiz will have a chance to meet McCullough up close and personal at the final press conference – at 12:00 pm local time — to promote their scheduled 10-round Special Attraction Super Bantamweight bout – presented by Goossen Tutor Promotions in association with the Cayman Islands Department of Tourism — to be held at the Royal Watler Cruise Terminal in the Grand Cayman capital city of George Town.

Perhaps their differences will be settled then or they will wait until they are in the ring on Friday night.