MARK McCullough gained revenge on the man who beat him in his first professional fight by beating him on Saturday.

The 25-year-old Wycombe fighter cruised to a points win over Basingstoke bruiser Darryl Still at London’s York Hall to end two years of hurt.

McCullough said: “I’ve got my revenge. I have wiped the slate clean which is what I wanted.

“I have wanted this ever since I lost to him in that first fight. I didn’t think I should have lost that night but now I have put it right.

“It was my first fight as a professional and it was disappointing to lose it, particularly when I thought I had won. I thought I had done enough to win the fight and I still do.

“I have had to wait ages to get my revenge, because he kept turning down our invitation of a rematch and he probably wishes now that he still hadn’t taken the fight.”

McCullough controlled the fight from the first bell with a performance which showed how much he has matured since he first stepped into the ring as a professional fighter.

He said: “I felt like I was on a different level to him. I felt I outclassed him and it felt good. I maybe gave him a bit too much respect in the first round but after that I was totally in control.

“I caught him with a good right and his legs twitched a bit.

“But I stayed patient and controlled and picked my shots.

“I felt really fit and I could have gone a few more rounds. It wasn’t my best performance but I think it showed how I have matured as a fighter.”

He became only the second fighter to beat Still and McCullough is hoping that his victory will propel him to better things.

McCullough will now have a break over Christmas and is hoping that the New Year will bring him a shot at either the light welterweight British Masters or Southern Area title.

Tomorrow it is the turn of Wycombe’s other professional fighter, Gareth Couch, to step into the ring.

The Loudwater puncher will put his 100 per cent professional record on the line when he goes in against an as yet unconfirmed fighter at the Brentwood Leisure Centre looking for his 14th straight victory since turning professional.