McCLOSKEY HAS SIGHTS ON KHAN'S CROWN

FOR a man who runs his own supermarket, it is no surprise to discover Paul McCloskey has a lengthy shopping-list.

Not content with landing the European light-welterweight title this Friday, McCloskey has his sights on Amir Khan world's crown as well as a place in boxing history.

The 30-year-old said: "This past week, everyone has been talking to me about (former European lightweight champion) Charlie Nash and all that he did 30 years ago.

"That goes to show the legacy you can leave. I'm fierce proud of Charlie, even though I never saw him, and can only go on the stories I've been told.

"What I want to do is leave behind my own stories. I want to go as far as I can in the game and have people talking about Paul McCloskey a few decades from now."

Up until now, McCloskey has done little wrong. Unbeaten in 19 pro fights, the Derryman has been intelligently matched right through his career by a managerial team who recognised his potential a long time ago.

And having come through every fight unscarred - remarkably he has yet to even break a nose - McCloskey is now ready to move onto an even higher plain.

Standing in his way, though, is the Spanish champion, Daniel Rasilla, who stepped in as a late replacement for former European belt-holder, Souleymane M'baye, who withdrew with a bicep injury.

Given that Rasilla's record is patchy compared to M'baye's, McCloskey has every reason to believe that when he steps into the ring on Friday before 3,000 of his own people in Magherafelt, he will feel more of a champion than a challenger.

McCloskey said: "The late change of opponent doesn't bother me. I had that before when I won the British title. But he is a national champion so I can't underestimate him."

Nor can he underestimate the pressure resting on his shoulders - Friday isn't just a coming-of-age moment for McCloskey but also an opportunity to lift Irish boxing out of its present-day gloom.

It is a month since Bernard Dunne lost his world title and infinitely more important, seven weeks since Darren Sutherland lost his life.

And everyone in the Irish boxing family, McCloskey included, has suffered.

He said: "I didn't know Darren closely, but we were the sort of guys who would have chatted amiably if we had seen one another at shows or in a gym.

"I just feel for his family. No one can imagine what they are going through because he was such a lovely, young man and an incredible boxing talent. His loss is huge - to everyone."

While McCloskey, like everyone else, can never begin to understand Darren's pain, his death has reminded him how lucky he is to be able to train and live in his home town.

Frequently, he leaves Dungiven for Belfast for specialised sessions with John Breen, his brilliant and father-like coach, but he has his life organised into a careful routine now between work, boxing and family.

McCloskey said: "I wouldn't change my set-up for anything in the world. When I turned pro, I had the chance to go to America.

"But I would never have settled. I always believed that I'd get my chance being based here. And I'm delighted I stayed.

"The shop is a break from the boxing and reminds me of the real world.

"Likewise, the family takes my mind away from work and from the ring. I'm busy. I never get a minute.

"Someone like Amir Khan doesn't have to worry about serving people at a till, but I'd rather my routine."

Perfect

Talk of Khan is inevitable given his management have been discussing a potential showdown between the two in March - providing each man wins their next bout.

And it is a fight Breen would relish.

The coach said: "I'd match Paul with Khan in a heartbeat because his style is made to dismantle the Englishman.

"Paul has this unorthodox way of boxing where he keeps his hands held low and relies on his reflexes to avoid being hit, before countering.

"It's dangerous and wouldn't be in my coaching manual, but it works because he has this superb balance and wonderful ability to read an opponent.

"So Khan would be perfect because Paul would simply fight him on the counter and take him out in three rounds. Believe me, we haven't even seen the best of Paul McCloskey yet."

Yet what we have seen, we like - the way he rolls his shoulders like Floyd Mayweather to avoid punches and then the manner of his counter attacks, landing his shots with deadly accuracy from unusual positions.

And so far in his career, two former European champions - Tontcho Tontchev and Colin Lynes - and one former world-beater, Cesar Bazan, have suffered accordingly.

McCloskey said: "I know well that this is my chance and could be the only one I get.

"A lot of fighters don't get opportunities. It is an unforgiving business because when you get beat, it's like the end of the world.

"The game is all about winning. You lose and you fall down the rankings and quickly get forgotten."

This article has 0 comments