Wayne McCullough may turn 39 this summer but he is determined to prove that he can rise to the summit of boxing once again.

Having announced his retirement last summer after quitting on his stool at the end of the sixth round against Juan Ruiz in the Caymen Islands it seemed the Pocket Rocket would never be seen again in the ring.

But at a press conference in New York yesterday, promoters Irish Ropes in association with Cedric Kushner announced that McCullough would be in the main supporting fight to Limerick star Andy Lee who faces former world title challenger Antwun Echols on March 16 at the Theatre in Madison Square Garden.

Speaking from his home in Las Vegas, McCullough revealed the pain he went through leading up his doomed clash with Ruiz and maintained that he could work his way to a final world title shot.

“I should have pulled out of that fight the week before. I didn’t spar for the last three and a half weeks of camp because of back injury and going into the ring I had taken two 800mg painkillers,” said McCullough.

“ My doctor told me to postpone the fight and Cheryl wanted me to pull out but but I wouldn’t. It was just stupidity just like the (Scott) Harrison fight when I wasn’t right.

“When I quit that time, my wife (Cheryl) and manager told me that I was fighting a lot better than I thought and I was ahead in the fight.

“But now I’m injury free and I feel a lot better.

“And I’m just glad that I’ve been given another chance and if I stay busy until the end of the year then I know I could fight for a world title.”

McCullough also said that he would love to have a showdown with WBA World super-bantamweight title challenger Bernard Dunne, who faces champion Ricardo Cordoba on March 21 at the O2 Arena in Dublin.

McCullough added: “I met Bernard when I was in Dublin for the UFC and I told him that it was time that we got it on.

“When I was in Dublin, taxi drivers and bus drivers, so many people were saying when would I be fighting Bernard. It’s a natural fight and when I get a couple of fights behind me then I hope he accepts the offer.

“If he wins his world title fight then why not have the first defence against me and even if he loses it’s still a big fight for Irish boxing.”

When McCullough did announce his retirement last summer, he complained about “getting hit with punches that he would never have before”.

But now, he argues, he is in much better condition and ready resume a career which many felt he should have walked away from years ago.

He added: “I’ve actually been sparring for the last four to five weeks and I have felt very good and Cheryl has been watching me and saying that I look in much better shape than last year.

“For over a decade I’ve been wanting to fight on the East Coast again and now I’ve got my chance and fighting at the Garden is great.

“The way things have gone for me in recent years I just hope that everything goes to plan. A good win here and then I would like to be out again in a couple of months.

“People talk about my age but fighters like Bernard Hopkins, Glencoffe Johnson and Antonio Tarver are still doing it at the top level and they’re older than I am.”

While McCullough can expect to have a good workout, middleweight prospect Lee should have a decent test when he meets Echols in the headline fight.