Much of Wayne McCullough's boxing education came from one of the greatest trainers of all time - Eddie Futch.
The Belfast man won the WBC World bantamweight title on July 30, 1995 with a sensational victory against hometown favourite Yasuei Yakushiji in Nagoya, Japan.
He remains the only Irish male boxer to ever win the famous green championship belt.
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Futch played a huge role in McCullough's career, having head-hunted the Shankill native following his silver medal heroics at the 1992 Olympics.
McCullough - who now resides in Las Vegas - was known for his iron chin and durability inside the ring.
Futch also taught him how to catch, slip and roll punches, an art that the former Shankill man says is lost on many modern day fighters.
"I have noticed a problem with a lot of fighters, and notably Irish fighters, is that their defence is non-existent," McCullough told Belfast Live.
"Eddie Futch always said to me the most important thing about boxing is a good defence. I had a good chin, but people didn't look at the shots I was slipping, catching and rolling.
"I didn't get hit as much as people think I did. They only saw the one shot that did hit me, and not the ones I avoided.
"Too many boxers take too much punishment these days, and you worry about them in later life. I always say to people I had 350 amateur and pro fights, that's a lot of hits on the head.
"Plus all the training. There are more punches in the gym than there is on fight night.
"If I took all those punches people said I took, I wouldn't be here talking to you now."
McCullough watched on from his Las Vegas home as Katie Taylor lost out to Chantelle Cameron last weekend.
He previously worked with Dennis Hogan who lost on the undercard, while Gary Cully suffered a devastating knockout defeat to Jose Felix Jr.
"Dennis trained with me two years ago when the pandemic started. I taught him how to catch a right hand, roll under it and hit the body and head," McCullough said.
"He lost his fight easily against a pretty basic guy. With Cully, once again it was a lack of defence.
"When I came to America I learned how to catch shots, open the palm of your hand to catch them. I didn't know things like this until Eddie Futch taught me.
"I see fighters nowadays when they get hit and they start throwing wild punches from the trenches.
"I always said I would love a full stable of Irish fighters, but they are the ones who let me down the most and don't want to listen. It is unbelievable.
"I have a good American heavyweight right now and a few others, and they listen and want to learn.
"I learnt off the late, great Eddie Futch. You can't get a better education than that. I couldn't believe it when Eddie took me on all those years ago.
"He was 82 years old at the time and had Riddick Bowe and Mike McCallum and was ready to retire. He said he saw me at the Olympics and I put a bit of fire in him.
"He thought I had something and he signed me up. That was like me moving to the Premier League.
"I left Ireland in 1993 when boxing was at a standstill back home. How could I say no? How many people from Ireland get a chance like that?"
McCullough added: "Training people is completely different to bxing the boxer. You want them to be like you.
"You want them to train hard and don't cut corners. But I believe kids are different now.
"Back in my day the coaches picked the fighters, now it is the other way around, which is ridiculous. You get boxers nowadays moving around and picking different coaches.
"Eddie picked me 30 years ago. But that generation is pretty much gone. The likes of (Anthony) Joshua today, and other tops guys, they are telling the coach when they want to train and when they don't want to train.
"I always trained anyway, but if I said to Eddie 'I'm not training today' he would have said 'What? I tell you what to do'. Eddie was my boss.
"We are a team and whatever he says to do I did it. He knew exactly how to peak me for a fight."
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