Paul McCloskey
Paul "Dudey" McCloskey is ready to step into the limelight when he takes on Amir Khan for the WBA Super Lightweight title at Manchester’s M.E.N. Arena on Saturday 16 April.
The unbeaten European champion McCloskey will provide Khan’s fourth defence of his crown and gives McCloskey the chance to
A native of Dungiven in County Derry, McCloskey’s amateur days were fought out of St. Canices ABC and as an amateur he was three-time Irish champion and five-time senior Ulster champion.
The hard-hitting southpaw unleashed his talents on the professional game in March 2005, knocking out 32-fight veteran David Kehoe in his debut at Kings Hall in Belfast. That start was a sign of things to come as he raced to a 13-0 record in his first two years in the professional ranks.
McCloskey was ready for bigger things and proved his potential on 8 December 2007 at Kings Hall when he stopped Bulgarian Toncho Tonchev in four rounds to claim the vacant IBF international junior welterweight title.
Wins over Manuel Garnica, Cezar Bazan and Nigel Wright followed in 2008 before took on Colin Lynes in December for the vacant British title in Dagenham. McCloskey was due to fight on the undercard that night but stepped up to face Lynes and responded in fine style, claiming the belt when Lynes retired after the ninth round.
McCloskey kicked off 2009 in style with a classy defence of his title against Dean Harrison in Widnes in March. The champ floored the challenger in the opening round but the Wolverhampton fighter managed to get through to the fourth round before the referee stopped the contest – handing McCloskey his 19th win as a pro.
The southpaw raised his profile further in his next bout when he fought Spaniard Daniel Rasilla for the vacant European title in Magherafelt in County Derry. McCloskey eased through the gears before troubling Rasilla in the fifth round and finishing the job in the ninth, flooring the Spaniard with a right before ending the contest with a left.
McCloskey defended his European belt twice in 2010; knocking out Giuseppe Lauri in 11 rounds in June at Kings Hall before a seventh round stoppage of Scotland’s Barry Morrison in County Donegal in October took his record to 22-0 and set him up for a shot at Khan’s coveted belt.
|
