Lee Reeves was taken to hospital after Gary Cully landed the stoppage in the tenth and final round
Gary Cully defeated Lee Reeves
Everyone inside the 3Arena’s thoughts were with Lee Reeves as he was taken to hospital after Gary Cully landed a huge final round knockout victory over him on the Pierce O’Leary v Mark Chamberlain card.
The pair battled it out in a cracking contest, the third on the card, and those who made their way to the venue early were treated to an all out war, which went one way and the other throughout.
Reeves started aggressively, but Cully landed big punches as the fight went on and worked a stunning finish as Reeves walked on to a big left that knocked him out cold in the tenth round.
Cully’s thoughts were with Reeves immediately after the contest as he paid tribute to the Limerick man, whose record now reads 16-2, while Cully’s is 20-2.
“My prayers and thoughts are with Lee Reeves, hopefully he’s okay,” said ‘The Diva’.
“He came in there as a big underdog after fighting relatively at a lower level up until now, but he really showed that he can operate at a higher level. Huge credit to him.”
Cully admitted he had to dig deep during the bout, in which he was deducted a point in the fifth round after his gum shield came out for a fifth time, with victory securing the BUI Celtic super-lightweight title for the Naas native.
“It doesn’t come into your mind when you’re in there because I’m a fighter, I’ve always been a fighter and that’s just what I do but I did have to dig deep in there,” he stated.
“I had to show I had balls, I always knew I had balls. There was never a question in my heart or my head. I probably showed it a little bit too much at times, as you saw in the Jose Felix and Maxi Hughes fights.
“I really had to think in there and that shot that came in the tenth round was a greatly timed shot. I had to stay switched on and stay concentrated. The key word for this camp was concentration.”
The bout was Cully’s second at super-lightweight after moving up from 135lbs and he admits he feels much better at the higher weight class.
“It just brings a lot more enjoyment to my boxing, it makes me work a lot harder and I think it’s shown in my last two fights,” he added.
“I had to dig deep in there tonight. If I had to go to the well at 135 in there, I don’t know if I would have had it in me. I’ve found a new lease of life at this weight and now I’m ready to push on.”