MATT TINLEY says his protege, Wayne McCullough is on a journey, not a destination" when he defends his WBC bantamweight title against Mexico's Jose Luis Bueno in The Point in Dublin on Saturday week.

Tinley eschews the chalk-stripe suit and flamboyant floral tie in favour of a denim jacket and floppy slacks, but he can still talk a convincing fight: he offers Naseem flamed a cool £1.2 million to fight McCullough at super bantamweight poundage, "anywhere, anytime".

McCullough and Tinley arrived in Dublin from Las Vegas yesterday accompanied by TheIl Torrance, who has guided the fortunes of boxing icons such as Mike McCallum and Ken Norton, as well as less famous but no less distinguished fighters as Riddick Bowe and Tony Tubbs.

The affable McCullough agrees with the assessment of him by Tin Icy and Torrance. He refuses to dignify or accept the title, "Prince", adopted by Naseem. "He has a name like everybody else, including myself," he says dismissively, adding that his priority is a defeat of Bueno, on his way to a bigger pay day, probably. against Naseem in Las Vegas.

McCullough, an unspoiled young man from a working class area of Belfast, who has decided to spend the rest of his working life in the glitter of Las Vegas, smiles benignly on all in the luxurious surroundings of Luttrellstown Castle. He blandly but convincingly puts himself forward as a world boxing champion who did it the hard way, and has no excuses or explanations for anyone.

His manager, Tinley, puts out a warning about Bueno, pointing out that he is from a similar background in Mexico. "I have to confess that the last fight against Johnny Bredhall in Belfast was not what we wanted. It was a farce when he ran around the ring.

"This is different. Mexicans, by their nature, will always come to fight. It is his (Bueno's) big chance to make a life for himself. He has a lot at stake and Wayne is not complacent about it. This guy is a real opponent," Tinley says.

Inevitably, the focus homes in on a possible fight between McCullough and Naseem. Tinley responds by saying that he has written to Naseem's (or Hamed, if you like, since both are correct) handlers offering a purse of £1.2 million for the winner at 122 lb - super bantamweight.

Of more substantial evidence, money being left aside, Torrance, a man of considerable wisdom in the fight game. points out that McCullough has not "dodged" anyone.

He has a point."He doesn't have to mention McCullough went to Nagoya in Japan to take on a local hero and claimed the title in a manner which left no space for dispute - apart from the opinion of a myopic Korean judge.

McCullough has never been one to blow his own trumpet, yet he cannot resist on Irish soil; he points out that his photograph appears on the cover of The Ring magazine, which is fond of describing itself as "The Bible of Boxing". Investigations will probably reveal that he is the first Irish boxer accorded that accolade.

McCullough, rather naively, proclaims that it has been a dream for him to have achieved that distinction, but it cannot be ignored. Yet it seems strange that his "handlers" apparently haven't even thought about the idea of a public sparring session in central Dublin.

Tinley deflects further questions about the nature of the fight itself by saying there will be a "pyrotechnic" display before the fight. He seems unaware that Dublin has been up to its collective neck in pyrotechnics in recent days as a result of what has been called a celebration of our national saint.

The rather pathetic and embarrassing boxing which was seen on television, parading as a world heavyweight title fight in Las Vegas at the weekend, cannot have done anything to endear boxing to anyone but the most committed. Even so, the prospect of two athletic, mobile and skillful members of the bantamweight division in what constitutes a "genuine" fight has a lot to attract the real fan.

McCullough has never let the side down. His deeply courageous performance in the Olympic final in Barcelona and his honesty and breezy nature make him a completely likable representative for Irish boxing.