Paul McCloskey

This article is about the Irish boxer Paul McCloskey. For the U.S. politician Paul Norton "Pete" McCloskey, see Pete McCloskey.
Statistics
Real name Paul McCloskey
Nickname(s) Dudey
Rated at Light welterweight
Height 5 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1.74 m)
Reach 70 in (178 cm)
Nationality Irish
Born 3 August 1979
Dungiven, Ireland
Stance Southpaw
Boxing record
Total fights 27
Wins 24
Wins by KO 12
Losses 3
Draws 0
No contests 0
Paul McCloskey
Medal record
Competitor for  Ireland
Men's Boxing
EU Amateur Championships
Silver 2003 Strasbourg Welterweight

Paul McCloskey (born 3 August 1979) is a Irish former professional boxer who fought in the light welterweight division.[1][2][3][4][5] He is a former Irish Senior Amateur Champion, former British light welterweight champion and former European light welterweight champion.[1][6]

Gaelic games

McCloskey played both Gaelic football and hurling at underage and briefly at senior level for the local clubs in Dungiven - St. Canice's Dungiven and Kevin Lynch's respectively. He was part of the Dungiven side that won the Derry Senior Football Championship and Ulster Senior Club Football Championship in 1997.

Amateur career

McCloskey boxed out of the St. Canices ABC and fought for Ireland at amateur level and was a three-time Irish champion and five-time senior Ulster champion at in the light welterweight division. He failed to qualify for the 2004 Summer Olympics by ending up in third place at the 2nd AIBA European 2004 Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Warsaw, Poland.

Professional career

McCloskey turned professional in March 2005 on the undercard of a bill that included Eamonn Magee and Neil Sinclair at the King's Hall, Belfast. In his debut McCloskey defeated experienced Englishman "Dangerous" David Kehoe with a third round knockout.

In December 2007 he won the IBF International light-welterweight title, stopping Tontcho Tontchev in round four.

After beating Nigel Wright on points in July 2008,[7] he fought Colin Lynes on 5 December 2008 for the vacant British light-welterweight title. McCloskey won, forcing Lynes to retire after the ninth round.[8]

Following his British title victory, McCloskey was named Boxer of the Year at the Irish National Boxing Awards in January 2009.

On 13 March, McCloskey retained his British light-welterweight title in emphatic fashion with a fourth-round stoppage of Dean Harrison in Widnes.

McCloskey won the vacant European light welterweight title on 6 November 2009, when he defeated Spanish boxer Daniel Rasilla after original opponent and champion Mbaye withdrew due to injury.

McCloskey defended his European title against Giuseppe Lauri from Italy on 11 June at the Kings Hall, Belfast, with an 11th round knockout.[9]

McCloskey's next defence of his European title was against Barry Morrison in Letterkenny, County Donegal, on 2 October 2010. McCloskey won the fight with a seventh round stoppage of his Scottish opponent.[10]

His third defense of the title would've been against second Italian challenger, Michele Di Rocco on March 5, 2011. Michele Di Rocco has a record of (21-1-1) with 12 kos and his only loss was by knockout in the 7th round against Giuseppe Lauri, whom McCloskey knocked out in the 11th round. But this match has been cancelled due to the Khan fight being worked out.

McCloskey vs. Khan

He was defeated by Amir Khan at the Manchester Evening News Arena on Saturday 16 April 2011 when the fight was stopped in the sixth round. This was the result of an accidental head clash which left McCloskey with a cut above his eye.

McCloskey vs. Prescott

McCloskey won his fight against Breidis Prescott in a world title eliminator on 10 September 2011 by unanimous decision, with two judges scoring the bout 114-113, and the third judge scoring it 115-113. During the fight Prescott dominated the early rounds, scoring a knockdown in the first round by clearly pushing his with his forearm and later breaking McCloskey nose which bleed heavily throughout the fight. However, McCloskey rallied in the second half of the fight and won the later rounds. The decision proved to be controversial with many believing Prescott had done enough to win.

Professional boxing record

24 Wins (12 Knockouts), 3 Defeats, 0 Draws[11]
Res. Record Opponent Type Rd., Time Date Location Notes
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss 24-3 United Kingdom Dave Ryan PTS 8 2013-12-21 England First Direct Arena, Leeds, England
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 24-2 United States Manuel Pérez UD 12 2012-09-22 Northern Ireland Odyssey Arena, Belfast, Northern Ireland Won WBA Inter-Continental Light Welterweight title
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss 23-2 United States DeMarcus Corley TKO 10 (12), 2:28 2012-05-05 Northern Ireland King's Hall, Belfast, Northern Ireland Forfeits mandatory title shot.
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 23-1 Colombia Breidis Prescott UD 12 2011-09-10 Northern Ireland Odyssey Arena, Belfast, Northern Ireland WBA Light Welterweight title eliminator
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss 22-1 United Kingdom Amir Khan TD 6 (12), 2:30 2011-04-16 England M.E.N. Arena, Manchester, England For WBA Light Welterweight title
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 22-0 United Kingdom Barry Morrison TKO 7 (12), 1:28 2010-10-02 Republic of Ireland Letterkenny Regional Sports and Leisure Complex, Letterkenny Retained EBU (European) Light Welterweight title
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 21-0 Italy Giuseppe Lauri KO 11 (12), 0:45 2010-06-11 Northern Ireland King's Hall, Belfast, Northern Ireland Retained EBU (European) Light Welterweight title
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 20-0 Spain Daniel Rasilla TKO 9 (12), 2:15 2009-11-06 Northern Ireland Meadowbank Sports Arena, Magherafelt, Northern Ireland Won vacant EBU (European) Light Welterweight title
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 19-0 United Kingdom Dean Harrison TKO 4 (12), 1:50 2009-03-13 England Kingsway Leisure Centre, Widnes, Cheshire Retained BBBofC British Light Welterweight title
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 18-0 United Kingdom Colin Lynes RTD 9 (12) 2008-12-05 England Goresbrook Leisure Centre, Dagenham, Cheshire Won vacant BBBofC British Light Welterweight title
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 17-0 United Kingdom Nigel Wright PTS 10 2008-07-19 Republic of Ireland University Arena, Limerick
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 16-0 Mexico César Bazán PTS 10 2008-03-29 Republic of Ireland Letterkenny Regional Sports and Leisure Complex, Letterkenny
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 15-0 Mexico Manuel Garnica PTS 10 2008-02-02 Republic of Ireland University Arena, Limerick
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 14-0 Bulgaria Tontcho Tontchev TKO 4 (12), 2:46 2007-12-08 Northern Ireland King's Hall, Belfast, Northern Ireland Won vacant IBF International Light Welterweight title
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 13-0 Poland Dariusz Snarski RTD 6 (8), 3:00 2007-10-20 Republic of Ireland National Stadium, Dublin
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 12-0 Italy Alfredo Di Feto PTS 8 2007-08-25 Republic of Ireland The Point, Dublin
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 11-0 Argentina Ivan Orlando Bustos KO 4 (10), 2:03 2007-07-14 Republic of Ireland National Stadium, Dublin
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 10-0 United Kingdom Chill John PTS 6 2007-02-17 Republic of Ireland City Hall, Cork
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 9-0 Romania Eugen Stan PTS 6 2007-02-10 Republic of Ireland Clanree Hotel, Letterkenny
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 8-0 Nigeria Silence Saheed PTS 4 2006-12-09 England ExCel Arena, Docklands, London
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 7-0 United Kingdom Daniel Thorpe RTD 3 (6) 2006-11-04 Scotland Kelvin Hall, Glasgow
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 6-0 United Kingdom Surinder Sekhon KO 1 2006-03-11 Wales Newport Leisure Centre, Newport
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 5-0 United Kingdom Duncan Cottier PTS 6 2006-02-18 Scotland Meadowbank Sports Centre, Edinburgh
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 4-0 United Kingdom Henry Janes TKO 3 (4), 2:31 2005-11-24 Northern Ireland Sports Bar, Lurgan, Northern Ireland
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 3-0 United Kingdom Billy Smith PTS 4 2005-11-05 Scotland Braehead Arena, Glasgow
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 2-0 Lithuania Oscar Milkitas PTS 4 2005-06-17 Scotland Kelvin Hall, Glasgow
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 1-0 United Kingdom David Kehoe TKO 3 (4), 0:10 2005-03-18 Northern Ireland King's Hall, Belfast, Northern Ireland Professional Debut

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Alan Hubbard. "McCloskey will be the next Irish world champ - Breen". Londonderry Sentinel. Retrieved 20 April 2009.
  2. ↑ Graham Houston. "PAUL McCLOSKEY vs NIGEL WRIGHT". Fight Writer. Retrieved 20 April 2009.
  3. ↑ "McCloskey defends in style". Sky Sports. 14 March 2009. Retrieved 20 April 2009.
  4. ↑ "Boxing Betting: Two sluggers meet in Ireland, expect a knockout ;)". BetFair. Retrieved 20 April 2009.
  5. ↑ "Injury forces McCloskey to withdraw". The Irish Times. Retrieved 20 April 2009.
  6. ↑ Boxrec. "Paul McCloskey". Boxrec Fighter Page. Retrieved 28 May 2007.
  7. ↑ "McCloskey beats Wright on points". BBC Sport. 19 July 2008. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
  8. ↑ "McCloskey collects British title". BBC Sport. 5 December 2008.
  9. ↑ "Paul McCloskey beats Giuseppe Lauri in Euro title bout". BBC Sport. 11 June 2010.
  10. ↑ "Paul McCloskey set for European title defence". BBC Sport. 18 August 2010.
  11. ↑ Paul McCloskey's Professional Boxing Record. BoxRec.com. Retrieved on 2011-010-07.

External links