Brave McCullough looks at retiring after defeat.

Byline: By Mark Staniforth

Wayne McCullough was contemplating retirement today after a night in which youth triumphed over experience at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

The 35-year-old McCullough was stopped for the first time in his career when ringside doctor Margaret Goodman called off his WBC super-bantamweight title rematch with Oscar Larios at the end of the 10th round.

Later, 40-year-old Bernard Hopkins lost his undisputed world middleweight title as he slipped to his first loss in over a decade via a split points decision to rising star Jermain Taylor.

While Hopkins will seek a rematch before ending his career with a light-heavyweight title fight before his next birthday, Irishman McCullough will surely decide he has nothing left to give.

McCullough was beaten controversially on points by Larios in their first meeting in February, but second time around the Mexican dominated and had won every round on one of the judge's scorecards.

Despite cutting the champion over the right eye in a promising fourth round, McCullough began to take unacceptable levels of punishment, and Goodman's intervention had the backing of trainer Freddie Roach and, later, McCullough himself.

McCullough said: "I thought the doctor made the right decision.

"I felt a little bit sluggish. I slowed down in the fourth and fifth rounds. I was able to come back a little, but still did not have it. The doctor made the right decision."

Las Vegas-based McCullough will surely now head into retirement with a reputation as one of the most successful and certainly bravest British boxing exports.

The fearless `Pocket Rocket' travelled to Japan in July 1995 to claim the WBC bantamweight title with a magnificent victory over defending champion Yasuei Yakushiji.

He would later go the distance with Erik Morales, Naseem Hamed and Scott Harrison in his sterling but ultimately fruitless quest to claim a second world crown.

Meanwhile, Taylor brought to an end the reign of one of the finest middleweights in history to seize all the major titles in one go.

Judges Duane Ford and Paul Smith scored the bout 115-113 in favour of the 26-year-old, while Jerry Roth had it 116-113 for the former champion.

A draw was averted when Ford gave the final round to Taylor, while the other two judges gave the round to Hopkins. Taylor's swinging style won him the early part of the fight but surprisingly it was the veteran champion who came on stronger at the end, wobbling Taylor in the 10th and believing he had done enough to win.

"From the fifth or sixth round on I dominated the fight," said Hopkins. "I had him hurt twice. The only thing I didn't do was knock him out."

However, the judges disagreed and sent Hopkins to his first defeat since a loss to Roy Jones 12 years ago.

Taylor said he would be delighted to grant Hopkins a rematch, adding: "He got some good shots in but he never hurt me. "I got winded in the later rounds but for the rematch I will try harder."