Paul McCloskey will finally get his chance at a European title on July 3rd but the undefeated Derry man will have to concede home advantage by travelling to France to battle it out with former World Champion Souleymane M’baye for the vacant European Light Welterweight title. McCloskey was made an offer that manager and trainer John Breen admitted was simply too good to refuse to travel to Paris to take on M’baye. “They made us a very, very good offer to go to France but Paul’s one of those guys who has no problems going into the lions den,” said Breen..
The fight will take place at the Palais des Sport Marcel Cerdan in the Paris suburb of Levallois-Perret in what is effectively M’baye’s hometown. “They could fight in M’baye’s front room as far as I’m concerned and Paul would still beat him. I’ve said all along he’s a World Champion in the making and he’ll prove that again that winning a European title on the road.
“Paul beat Colin Lynes in his back yard to win the British title at a weeks notice and his first defence was on the road too against Dean Harrison in Liverpool and he knocked him out so it’s not an issue for him.
“He’s in good shape because we’ve known for a while now that the fight was going to happen in early July but now that the venue and an exact date has been set we have something to focus on.”
McCloskey echoed Breen’s sentiments and says he can’t wait to get his hands on the European title. “I’ve no problem going to Paris,” revealed the undefeated Dungiven southpaw. “It’s a beautiful city and hopefully it will be a beautiful night with me lifting the European title. At the end of the day when the ring clears and that first bell goes it will be just me, him and the referee in that ring so the crowd won’t have any affect on me.”
Despite his confidence McCloskey has long been an admirer of M’baye who held the WBA World Light Welterweight title from 2006 – 2007. “I used to watch a lot of M’baye’s early fights when I was still in the amateurs, revealed McCloskey.
”He’s very slick, durable and he can punch a bit himself. There’s no doubt about it he’s a world class operator, you don’t win World titles without being world class. He’s only been beaten 3 times in 41 fights and he has wins over some very good fighters including Andriy Kotelnik who’s defending his World title against Amir Khan this month.”
McCloskey though believes that he can use the European title as a spring board to even further success. “This is a huge opportunity for me. Manny Pacquiao aside there is no one in the division that’s setting the world alight. Winning the European title would set me up nicely for a shot at a World title. Obviously I’d like to consolidate at European level first with a couple of defences but if Amir Khan can take the World title off Kotelnik in a few weeks time then that’s a fight I would relish at some point down the road.”
Fury’s bringing Double Trouble to Wigan
It will be a case of double trouble where the Fury’s are concerned in Wigan on Saturday, June 13th with cousin’s Tyson and Phill Fury appearing on the Hennessy Sports “Rule Britannia” event at the Robin Park Arena. The show will be live on ITV4 and is headlined by John Murray’s British Lightweight title defence against Scott Lawton. 6 foot 9 inch heavyweight sensation Tyson Fury has been the talk of British boxing since turning pro last December. He’s already racked up 6 straight KO wins and he’s now been joined in the pro ranks by his first cousin Phill Fury.
The Lancaster light middleweight only turned 18 in April but he’s already racked up a debut win and is anxious for more. The teenager is trained by his father Hughie (who also trains his nephew Tyson) and with the family steeped in boxing he has no concerns about his son’s choice of career.
“Phill’s a very talented lad and it has always been on his mind to turn pro,” said Fury. “He loves the sport and he’s been training since he was old enough to stand up! He had half of his amateur fights over in Ireland and the other half here but he’s been on the wrong end of a lot of bad decisions so as soon as he was eligible to turn pro he wanted to make the switch.
“I’ve always trained my fighters in a pro style, to get in there and plant their feet and look to do damage as opposed to the jab, run and hold style which seems to be what the amateur judges look for these days.
“Phill said that it was the biggest difference he noticed in his debut that he was actually allowed to fight on the inside instead of the referee constantly breaking the boxers up like they do in the amateurs so that will certainly suit him.”
Although only new to the pro game Fury has already stepped into the ring with a number of accomplished fighters including former World Champion, Junior Witter. “He’s been over in Manchester sparring with the Commonwealth Champion Matthew Hall and he goes over to the Ingle’s gym in Sheffield and he’s sparred with the likes of Junior Witter there,” revealed Fury Senior.
“That’s great experience for him to get so early in his career and it will stand to him. He’s quick on his feet and has fast hands so he has plenty of natural ability and he’s a tough lad, he’s never been down or even shaken so I’ve no worries about him there.
“He’ll have to mature into the pro’s because he’s still very young but his ambition is to be the youngest British or Irish Champion as he’s eligible for both titles. That would be a great achievement but for the moment we’ll see how he matures. You can never look beyond your next fight in boxing so we’ll take it one fight at a time but I think he’s going to be an excellent pro and one to watch out for.”
It seems the Fury production line doesn’t stop with Tyson and Phill either! “I have two other sons, Hughie and Walter and they’re both boxers as well,” said Fury. “Hughie’s 14 and Walter’s 12 but they both love their boxing as well so they might follow in their brother’s footsteps in a few years time.”
The John Murray – Scott Lawton British Lightweight title fight headlines a big night of boxing at the Robin Park Arena, Wigan on Saturday, June 13th. Tyson Fury features in the chief support while in a battle of Champions, Central Area title holder Nadeem Siddique takes on Southern Area Champ, Tom Glover.
Exciting Canadian puncher Andrew Singh Kooner also appears alongside hot prospects Steve “Super Bad” Barnes, Phill Fury and Bobby “Boogaloo” Ward, the last Englishman to defeat Amir Khan.
Tickets are available from the Ticketline box office on 0844 888 4402 or via www.ticketline.co.uk.