WAYNE McCULLOUGH'S defeat at the hands of Daniel Zaragoza in Boston was unexpected - but it is not the end of the world.

McCullough was, understandably, deeply disappointed and expressed this in terms which he was later to regret.

It was merely the reaction of a dedicated professional who felt that he had fallen victim to a system which hasn't always been fair to the practitioners who take all the risks - the boxers themselves.

Boxing is a cruel discipline. No other sport requires its participants to pit their wits and their bodies against other men of similar qualities in a stark contest where, as Joe Louis put it: "You can run but you can't hide".

Wayne McCullough has done himself proud and he deserves admiration for his single minded pursuit of his goal namely to be the undisputed best in the world at whatever weight he chooses to fight".

It was a realistic aim and one well within his compass. Observers felt that Zaragoza's age (39) and his propensity to cut up badly around the eyes, were factors which would militate against him. What many, including this writer, failed to take into account was that Mexican boxers at this weight, particularly, can never be put into convenient categories.

Zaragoza's vast experience carried him through yet another battle and even if McCullough felt strongly that he had won the fight, there were several ringside observers who disputed his reading of it. What was surprising was that two of the judges gave the fight to the Mexican by a margin of four points. That certainly seemed to weigh much too heavily in favour of Zaragoza.

On the morning after the fight, McCullough was still bitter about the verdict and repeated what he had said the previous night, that he would not fight under WBC rules again. Some people in the WBC got on to their high horses and suggested that McCullough's remarks "brought the game into disrepute."

This rather precious assessment, suggesting that an off the cuff comment by a young man whose body and heart were sore, was in the same category as some of the loud mouth people who make a lot of noise and money without ever lacing a glove, is beneath contempt.

As things now stand, McCullough has apologised for the remark he made and is hoping for a rematch with Zaragoza.

Zaragoza has indicated that he will consider this and within 24 hours of the fight, Las Vegas, Madison Square Garden in New York and Dublin (probably Croke Park) were being mentioned as possible venues.

If the rematch can be agreed, then money will dictate the venue - and that means television. People who watched it on TV have all expressed the view that it was a very fine television event. In that case, a rematch will be an attractive proposition.

What McCullough can now be assured of is that a rematch will make him a very wealthy young man. At 26, he has made himself secure for life and the rematch would represent the icing on the cake.

He will not need reminding that he has now been in three major wars. He won the bantamweight title, against the odds, by beating Yasuei Yakushiji in Japan, defended it successfully, but not without difficulty, against Jose Bueno in Dublin and then lost it to Zaragoza in Boston.

In the disappointment of his defeat in the Boston Arena, he even mentioned the possibility that he might not box again. That now seems to have been put aside.

McCullough is nothing if not sensible and his manager Matt Tinley, too, has a cool businessman's head. All of this suggests that if McCullough were to beat Zaragoza in the rematch, he might be content to take a couple of fairly easy defences before calling an end to a career which has greatly enhanced the reputation of Irish boxing, in particular, and sport in general. He deserves the thanks and affection of all Irish people.

The same can be said to apply to Steve Collins, who defends his WBO super middle weight title against Frederik Seillier of France in early next month. Collins too a shrewd and dedicated boxer, who deserves everything he has achieved so far.

Collins has realistic ambitions to unify the title by taking on, eventually, the best that the Americas can offer. Once he has disposed of Seillier, he is determined to challenge Roy Jones, the WBC champion.

He declares that he doesn't have any fears of going to the United States to take on Jones on his own ground. Jones, for his part, announced in Boston that he was ready to take on Collins, anywhere.

Perhaps, in these circumstances, and given the fact that the television companies like to stage multi title bills, McCullough and Collins might, just might, feature on a Dublin bill which would certainly be a night to remember.