'I love boxing but there's more to life': Tyrone McCullagh talks mental health, coronavirus and how he hit rock bottom

The skillful 29 year-old southpaw had been riding on the crest of a wave as his career reached an all-time high when cruising into the semi-finals of the lucrative MTK Global Golden Contract tournament.

However, a bruising unanimous points defeat to experienced British featherweight champion, Ryan Walsh (22-2-2) brought him crashing back to earth with a bang!

The WBO European super-bantamweight champion’s unblemished record after 14 fights, and almost five years in the pro ranks, had been spoiled and those final six rounds of that last four clash in Bethnal Green left the proud Derry native at his lowest ebb, questioning both himself and his future.

He certainly wasn’t disgraced and his reputation has arguably been enhanced after the Sky Sports televised event.

Regardless, it led to the darkest moment of his sporting career as he tried to come to terms with why he lost the fight!

Following all the hype and publicity during fight week where McCullagh and his good friend, Tyrone McKenna stole the show, suddenly it was all over, he was out of the tournament and decided to self-isolate in his bedroom while flirting dangerously with depression.

For 10 days McCullagh was holed up in his room, leaving only to eat or go to the toilet, until his dad, Vin, who suffers from manic depression and was ‘sick with worry’, gave him a stern talking to and quickly dragged him back to his senses.

Like his dad, McCullagh is a qualified mental health nurse and could quickly spot the tell-tale signs himself but it wasn’t until his alarming behaviour had threatened to affect his father’s own mental health issues that he decided enough was enough and forced himself to get his life back in order.

“It was very, very difficult,” admitted McCullagh. “Obviously I don’t like losing - no one does, but it hit me a lot harder than expected.

“I was just laying in my room. I was only leaving to go to the toilet or get something to eat and then went straight back to bed. I was laying in my bed for about a week straight. I didn’t shower or anything. It was a tough 10 days or so,” he reflected.

“I knew myself it just wasn’t the way to behave but I just couldn’t get out of that mood. My dad had to drag me out of bed one day and have a few stern words with me. I wouldn’t say I was depressed,” he stressed. “It wouldn’t have been that drastic but I knew my mood was very low and the way I was behaving I was showing those types of symptoms. I sort of knew I would’ve snapped out of it sooner rather than later.

“My da’s words were more worried than stern,” he recalled. “He said he heard me going to the toilet at 1 a.m. and I had woke him up and he said he couldn’t get back to sleep because he was sick with worry. My ma doesn’t keep well and he went back to sleep at 5a.m. and then had to get up with her at 5.30a.m.

“He’s got mental health issues himself and if I was the reason to set him off again I couldn’t forgive myself. So I said to myself, even if I wasn’t feeling too much better about myself, I would act happier until I was.

“That’s what I started doing. I started going out with my mates again and picked myself back up. I love boxing, it’s my job but I realised there’s more to life than it.”

McCullagh tends to be overly critical of his own performances and while he struggles to watch back his defeat to Walsh, he’s determined to return stronger for it.

Ironically, McCullagh had finally prepared himself to emerge from his self-imposed lockdown only to realise the rest of Ireland were preparing for mass self-isolation in response to the global coronavirus pandemic.

“I had started to self-isolate myself after my loss. I was taking it bad and didn’t leave the house. And now I’m finally ready to leave the house again, everyone else is self-isolating,” he smiles.

With gyms shut down across the country due to the alarming spread of COVID-19, including Pete Taylor’s Bray gym where McCullagh has been sharpening his skill-set, it’s becoming more and more difficult to stage his comeback and certainly not as quickly as he would like.

He still manages to hit the roads for a run, however, with the sporting world shut down temporarily, it will allow McCullagh time to reflect on that defeat he’s found so difficult to accept.

“I spoke to Jamie (Conlan, MTK vice president) and Pete (Taylor) and they told me there was a lot of positives to take from the fight and that my stock had risen. I watched the fight once and I want to watch it again but I can’t just yet. I keep asking myself what if, what if I had done this or done that better. That’s probably only natural.

“I’m looking forward to heading back to Dublin to train again but with this virus I’m not sure what way things are now. I’m looking forward to things getting back to normal, getting back to training and getting another fight date.”

Prior to his Golden Contract semi-final loss to Walsh, McCullagh has only ever been sent to the canvas once in a 2018 clash with Scotsman, Joe Ham for the BBBoC Celtc super-bantamweight title which he went on to win convincingly.

Against Walsh, McCullagh was cruising in the opening six rounds, frustrating the Englishman. However, McCullagh was floored twice - in the sixth and ninth rounds - as his fight plan unravelled. Opting to take the positives, McCullagh believes he will learn from his mistakes and while he rarely gets hit, he’s now proven he’s got a decent chin.

“The one thing I’m happy about is that the experience I’ve gained from it will stand by me. I remember after the six rounds I was thinking this was too easy and then it ended up it was too easy, just not for me,” he laughed, “Getting hit like that and getting back up, I will take a lot from that. I’ll learn from it.”

It certainly hasn’t been the best start to 2020 for McCullagh whose holiday to Budapest was scrapped due to the coronavirus outbreak - his sixth trip in succession which has fallen through.

That’s just another setback the determined southpaw has learned to deal with as he readies himself for a return to the ring once normality has resumed.

Check out McCullagh's top tips for looking after your mental health while in self-isolation here