By John Haughey
BBC Sport |
His latest title shot will take place in the Indian reservation town of Lemoore near Fresno in California. Hardly the MGM Grand.
But many cannot believe McCullough is fighting at all after his pummelling by Scott Harrison in 2003.
The Irishman looked a spent force after that beating in Glasgow.
And the 34-year-old has been back in the ring only once since then, knocking out journeyman Mike Juarez last September.
It did not look enough to propel McCullough back into the big time but, somewhat surprisingly, Larios offered the Belfastman the chance to win a second world title - 10 years after his WBC bantamweight triumph.
Twenty-eight-year-old Larios has an impressive record of three defeats in 58 fights but despite victories over the likes of Willie Jorrin and Nedal Hussein, he is not one of the big draws in world boxing.
 |  I know that's probably it for me if I don't win |
A victory over McCullough will not do the awkward Mexican's credentials any harm even if most boxing pundits feel his best days are well behind him.
Even McCullough is ready to admit that another world-title defeat would signal the end of his career.
"I know that's probably it for me if I don't win," says the Las Vegas-based fighter, who over the last eight years has lost world title challenges against Daniel Zaragoza, Naseem Hamed, Eric Morales and Harrison.
The narrow points defeats by Zaragoza and Morales were for the same belt that will be on offer in the early hours of Friday morning.
However, McCullough, who has been working with top American trainer Freddie Roach, insists it is going to be third time lucky.
"I have been trained by Freddie Roach since last summer and he's been getting me back into the good habits that (Joe Frazier's former trainer) Eddie Futch taught me when I went to America first in 1993.
"We've been working on getting good combinations going and keeping my hands up and blocking shots the way that Eddie always preached about.
"I'm not saying that the trainers I had after Eddie were rubbish but Freddie is very much on the same wavelength as Eddie was."
 Oscar Larios will be a strong favourite against McCullough |
McCullough was at ringside for Larios' comprehensive points win over Hussein, the Mexican's seventh successful defence of the WBC belt.
But McCullough insists he spotted flaws in the champion which he says he can exploit.
"He does make mistakes and Freddie Roach has been working with me to make sure that I capitalise on them."
McCullough reveals that Roach has been encouraging him to employ a "more thinking kind of boxing rather than going toe-to-toe".
But for McCullough to have any chance, he is going to have to get back to the high work-rate which was his trademark in the mid-1990s.
"In the Scott Harrison fight, nothing worked for me. I just didn't get the punch-rate off.
"But against Mike Juarez last September, I got back to over 100 punches a round and knocked the guy out in two rounds.
"I've been doing it in the gym and it's just a matter of going out and doing it in a fight as well."
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