Gary Cully hopes that Katie Taylor's homecoming event this weekend is only the start of big time boxing returning to Dublin - and he wants to be the fighter headlining shows in the capital over the coming years.
The Kildare lightweight will aim to take his professional record to 17-0 on Saturday's card at the 3Arena, which is headlined by Taylor's super-lightweight bout with Chantelle Cameron, and says he is like "a kid at Christmas" now that the event is just days away.
Cully, who is trained by the Bray Bomber's father Pete, faces experienced Mexican Jose Felix (39-6-1) as he looks to take another step towards a world title shot and he hopes it's not too long until he is headlining his own show on Irish soil.
READ MORE: Katie Taylor tips Gary Cully as a future world champion - and loves Irish-stacked 3Arena undercard
He told the Irish Mirror: "I want to build a fanbase in Dublin this year. I want to come back and headline my own show after this fight. I want to headline the 3Arena, I want to come back in September/October against a big name, headline my own show and start forging my own path I suppose.
"Going on from that then, obviously we don't know what's going to happen with the belts. Devin Haney is fighting Vasyl Lomachenko the same night as my fight so we'll see what happens there. If Devin beats Loma and moves up, then there'll be a couple of belts scattered away.
"I'm highly ranked with the WBA, I've got a nice ranking with the WBO as well so we'll see what happens there.
"After this fight I want to come back to Dublin, start headlining my own shows. I want a big name in Dublin. We've been talking about Jorge Linares for a long time, I'd love that fight, back in Dublin in September/ October time."
Cully signed a new multi-fight promotional deal with Eddie Hearn's Matchroom Boxing at the start of the year and has been tipped to be a future world champion by the promoter and many others in the sport after a series of impressive knockout wins.
The most recent of those came on the card which saw Mauricio Lara stop Michael Conlan's former dance partner Leigh Wood back in February, when Cully knocked out previously undefeated American Wilfredo Flores inside two rounds.
He also featured on Taylor's last card, knocking out another previously unbeaten fighter in France's Jaouad Belmehdi in just 35 seconds at the Wembley Arena in London last October.
And after fighting up and coming prospects in his last two bouts, Cully now gets back in with somebody more experienced, similar to when he faced Miguel Vazquez 14 months ago.
"He's got 46 pro fights so he knows his way around the ring," stated Cully, 27. "Obviously I fought Miguel Vazquez in March last year and that was a step up to fighting somebody who was more experienced, who has been there and done it.
"Then after that I've kind of went on and fought two more prospects. I was a prospect at the time, I fought two more prospects - a French champion and an undefeated American. They were kind of inexperienced if you want to say that, but prospects, so I've went from fighting the experienced guy, gaining the experience, then going back and fighting two prospects and now I feel like I'm going back and fighting another experienced guy.
"He's someone who can teach me things in there and I can gain a lot of experience from fighting. I'll learn a lot of experience in there on Saturday night I believe. He knows every trick in the book, he's been around the world, he's fought in his native Mexico, he's been to America fighting, he fought over here against Tyrone McKenna a couple of years back as well so he's certainly no mug. He knows his way around the ring."
Cully has delivered explosive knockouts in his last few bouts and is hoping to entertain the 9,000 fans in attendance on Saturday.
"Every time I get in the ring I try to entertain", declared 'The Diva'. "The number one thing is to get out with the win, but obviously it's the entertainment business. Everybody likes knockouts, everybody wants to see knockouts, and I try to get in and produce as good a performance as I can every time.
"I work very, very hard in the gym. I've put a lot of work into this camp as well especially, because obviously this one is a special night.
"I always say after every camp that I can't go any harder next time, but I always have to find an edge. I always have to find something to improve on in the next camp and I feel like I did definitely do that this time and I feel like there's another big performance to come from me."
Saturday night will also be a huge moment for Cully's former Ireland youth teammates Caoimhín Agyarko and Thomas Carty, as well as his fellow countyman Dennis Hogan, who has been based in Australia for the past number of years.
With Michael Conlan fighting Luis Alberto Lopez for the IBF world featherweight belt next weekend in Belfast on another card full of Irish talent, Cully admits it's a hugely exciting time for boxing here.
He explained: "It's quite mad for me on Saturday with myself, Caoimhín and Thomas all on the undercard. We came through the youth system together. We would have travelled together to Russia, Bulgaria, been on training camps, but we obviously all had the same dream that we wanted to do this and now we're back in Dublin the three of us sharing the same card.
"Obviously Paddy Donovan is on this card as well, a young prospect coming through as well, we've got Mick fighting the following week and a stacked undercard up in Belfast with more talent on that as well, Kieran Molloy, Kurt Walker and all those guys.
"We've got so many names in Ireland that can become world champions and have the potential to go to the very top and it's exciting times for us all."
As exciting as it is, Cully says he won't get too carried away with the occasion and will stay in the fighter hotel just like he would in the UK to get in the zone ahead of fight night - despite living just 40 minutes away from the 3Arena.
He explained: "I'm trying to keep everything the exact same. I know the show is so big and I know the event is so big, but it's just a boxing ring at the end of the day. You can't let that get the better of you too much or let it get into your head too much. At the end of the day, it's a boxing ring like I train in every other day so I'm just trying to keep it as normal as possible and not get too carried away.
"Obviously we have to take it all in and be present and enjoy it all, but I don't want to get too carried away with it all either."
Gary Cully delighted to see Katie Taylor finally get her wish
Gary Cully knows this Saturday's event wouldn't be happening without Katie Taylor and he's delighted to see his former Irish amateur teammate and long-time friend finally get the night in Dublin she has wanted so long for.
Taylor has fought 22 times as a professional, but none of those bouts have been held on home soil, and she has waited years for this event to come to fruition.
And while Cully knows Saturday night is huge for his own career, he is thrilled that the undisputed lightweight queen will finally see her dream come true.
He said: "Katie's an Irish hero, a sporting hero, but an Irish hero as well and for her to get her homecoming, obviously being on the card is special for me, my career and my family, but just to see Katie get her night is brilliant. She's been working so hard for this for so long, she's been trailblazing for the last 15 years or so. To see her get that is class as well. It will be a very proud moment for any Irish sport fans.
"I know Katie since the amateur days. When I was coming up through the youth system on the high performance team, we would have trained and sparred together when Katie was senior at the time obviously.
"Then the link with Pete coaching me, we've met up a couple of times since Pete has started coaching me when she's been home and stuff like that so there's always been a connection there. I suppose that makes it a little more special for me to see it as well, being that I've seen her come through the system for a long, long time.
"I've seen what she's been doing, I've seen the hard work she's put in in the gym and I know her personally as well so it's deadly to see."
Read More
Katie Taylor blown away by 'amazing' support as she gears up for homecoming bout
Chantelle Cameron wouldn't have turned pro had it not been for 'trailblazer' Katie Taylor
Katie Taylor invites Dublin schoolgirl into ring at public work-out ahead of world title fight
Eddie Hearn addresses security and ticket issues ahead of Katie Taylor v Chantelle Cameron
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