Wayne McCullough takes a right from champion Oscar Larios

McCullough suffered the first stoppage of his career as Larios retained his WBC super bantamweight title.

It was the Belfast fighter's sixth attempt at winning back a world title.

"I slowed down in the fourth and fifth rounds. I came back a little, but still did not have it. The doctor made the right decision," said McCullough.

Fight pictures: Larios v McCullough

It was 35-year-old McCullough's sixth defeat in his 28 professional fights and surely represented his last shot at a world belt.

Both fighters started at a furious pace but McCullough's plan to march forward and out-punch Larios seemed doomed to failure as the Mexican used his height and reach advantage to land the cleaner shots.

Larios sustained a cut next to his right eye in an accidental clash of heads in the third round and McCullough tried to seize his chance in the fourth, getting in close enough to land his punches.

In truth, the fourth round was probably the only one McCullough won and as his pace dropped off slightly Larios reasserted his dominance.

A big left hook from the Mexican rocked McCullough for just a second in the sixth round and a big right hand followed by a combination definitely shook McCullough in the sixth.

Trainer Freddie Roach showed concern for McCullough at the end of the eighth round and at the end of the ninth referee Steele told McCullough he was taking too many shots.

The fight doctor stepped in to stop what was becoming a brutal beating at the end of the 10th round and Larios, who had claimed a unanimous points decision when the pair met in February, won on a technical knockout.

It was a 17th consecutive win for the 28-year-old Mexican, but must surely have been McCullough's final attempt at regaining a world title.

He was WBC bantamweight champion in the mid 1990s before being out of action for two years from 1999 after a failed brain scan.