Super welterweight
Professional boxer Culcay loses world championship duel
Jack Culcay (r) lost the super welterweight world championship fight against Russian Bachram Murtasaliyev. photo
© Hannes P. Albert/dpa
Veteran Jack Culcay puts up a great fight, but goes down in the penultimate round. It remains to be seen what will happen next for the super welterweight.
German professional boxer Jack Culcay has lost the fight for the super welterweight world title.
The 38-year-old veteran lost in Brandenburg Falkensee against the undefeated Russian Bachram Murtasalijew and missed out on winning the vacant title of the IBF association. In the eleventh of twelve rounds and a remarkable exchange of blows, he received the knockout against his much larger opponent.
“I went forward and wanted to look for the lucky punch. That backfired,” said Culcay self-critically. “Jack fought like a lion,” said ex-professional Axel Schulz at RBB: “He delivered endlessly.” For Culcay it was the fifth defeat in his 38th professional fight; his record includes 33 wins. “A huge thing just slipped through his fingers, but that’s how it is as an athlete,” said former heavyweight Schulz.
Trainer legend sad
Ulli Wegner, Culcay’s former coach, reacted emotionally at RBB: “I’m very sad because he had a bomb fight. This boy would have deserved the title.”
Murtasaliyev, who was 13 centimeters taller and seven years younger, dealt hard blows. Already in the first round, Culcay from the Berlin Agon stable took huge hits. The agile boxer, who was born in Ecuador, then made better use of his strengths and dodged many of his opponent’s punches.
An exciting duel ensued between the two professionals. Culcay appeared more tactically adept, but repeatedly suffered from the heavy hits. Murtasaliyev seemed increasingly exhausted by the clever feints. In the penultimate round, Culcay conceded heavy hits and went down.
Culcay became amateur world champion in 2009. He was under contract with the Universum boxing stable from Hamburg and then with the Sauerland team. What will happen next for him is still unclear.