Paul McCloskey
McCloskey in 2012
Born (1979-08-03) 3 August 1979
Dungiven, Northern Ireland
Other namesDudey
Statistics
Weight(s)Light-welterweight
Height5 ft 8+1⁄2 in (174 cm)
Reach70 in (178 cm)
StanceSouthpaw
Boxing record
Total fights27
Wins24
Wins by KO12
Losses3
Medal record
Men's amateur boxing
Representing  Ireland
EU Championships
Silver medal – second place 2003 Strasbourg Welterweight

Paul McCloskey (born 3 August 1979) is a former professional boxer from Northern Ireland who competed from 2005 to 2013.[1][2][3][4][5] He held the British super-lightweight title from 2008 to 2009; the European super-lightweight title from 2009 to 2011; and challenged once for the WBA super-lightweight title in 2011. As an amateur, McCloskey won a silver medal in the welterweight division at the 2003 European Union Championships, and was an Irish Senior amateur 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 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 defence of the title would've been against second Italian challenger, Michele Di Rocco on 5 March 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

27 fights 24 wins 3 losses
By knockout 12 1
By decision 12 2
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
27 Loss 24–3 Dave Ryan PTS 8 21 Dec 2013 First Direct Arena, Leeds, England
26 Win 24–2 Manuel Pérez UD 12 22 Sep 2012 Odyssey Arena, Belfast, Northern Ireland Won vacant WBA Inter-Continental light-welterweight title
25 Loss 23–2 DeMarcus Corley TKO 10 (12), 2:28 5 May 2012 King's Hall, Belfast, Northern Ireland
24 Win 23–1 Breidis Prescott UD 12 10 Sep 2011 Odyssey Arena, Belfast, Northern Ireland
23 Loss 22–1 Amir Khan TD 6 (12), 2:30 16 Apr 2011 MEN Arena, Manchester, England For WBA light-welterweight title;
Unanimous TD: McCloskey cut from an accidental head clash
22 Win 22–0 Barry Morrison TKO 7 (12), 1:28 2 Oct 2010 Regional Sports and Leisure Complex, Letterkenny, Ireland Retained European light-welterweight title
21 Win 21–0 Giuseppe Lauri KO 11 (12), 0:45 11 Jun 2010 King's Hall, Belfast, Northern Ireland Retained European light-welterweight title
20 Win 20–0 Daniel Rasilla TKO 9 (12), 2:15 6 Nov 2009 Meadowbank Sports Arena, Magherafelt, Northern Ireland Won vacant European light-welterweight title
19 Win 19–0 Dean Harrison TKO 4 (12), 1:50 13 Mar 2009 Kingsway Leisure Centre, Widnes, England Retained British light-welterweight title
18 Win 18–0 Colin Lynes RTD 9 (12) 5 Dec 2008 Goresbrook Leisure Centre, London, England Won vacant British light-welterweight title
17 Win 17–0 Nigel Wright PTS 10 19 Jul 2008 University Arena, Limerick, Ireland
16 Win 16–0 César Bazán PTS 10 29 Mar 2008 Regional Sports and Leisure Complex, Letterkenny, Ireland
15 Win 15–0 Manuel Garnica PTS 10 2 Feb 2008 University Arena, Limerick, Ireland
14 Win 14–0 Tontcho Tontchev TKO 4 (12), 2:46 8 Dec 2007 King's Hall, Belfast, Northern Ireland Won vacant IBF International light-welterweight title
13 Win 13–0 Dariusz Snarski RTD 6 (8), 3:00 20 Oct 2007 National Stadium, Dublin, Ireland
12 Win 12–0 Alfredo Di Feto PTS 8 25 Aug 2007 The Point, Dublin, Ireland
11 Win 11–0 Ivan Orlando Bustos KO 4 (10), 2:03 14 Jul 2007 National Stadium, Dublin, Ireland
10 Win 10–0 Chill John PTS 6 17 Feb 2007 City Hall, Cork, Ireland
9 Win 9–0 Eugen Stan PTS 6 10 Feb 2007 Clanree Hotel, Letterkenny, Ireland
8 Win 8–0 Silence Saheed PTS 4 9 Dec 2006 ExCeL, London, England
7 Win 7–0 Daniel Thorpe RTD 3 (6) 4 Nov 2006 Kelvin Hall, Glasgow, Scotland
6 Win 6–0 Surinder Sekhon KO 1, 0:53 11 Mar 2006 Newport Centre, Newport, Wales
5 Win 5–0 Duncan Cottier PTS 6 18 Feb 2006 Meadowbank Sports Centre, Edinburgh, Scotland
4 Win 4–0 Henry Janes TKO 3 (4), 2:31 24 Nov 2005 Sports Bar, Lurgan, Northern Ireland
3 Win 3–0 Billy Smith PTS 4 5 Nov 2005 Braehead Arena, Glasgow, Scotland
2 Win 2–0 Oscar Milkitas PTS 4 17 Jun 2005 Kelvin Hall, Glasgow, Scotland
1 Win 1–0 David Kehoe TKO 3 (4), 0:10 18 Mar 2005 King's Hall, Belfast, Northern Ireland

References

  1. 1 2 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. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. 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.
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