A huge night of boxing in Belfast is on the way as Paul McCloskey and Prizefighter Middleweights II take over the King’s Hall on May 5, live on Sky Sports.
McCloskey is looking to keep in World title contention following his brave victory over Breidis Prescott in September and will be gunning for a second World title shot later this year – but first he will face a stern test against two-time World Champion Diaz.
The Mexican has held the International Boxing Federation (IBF) lightweight crown twice and challenged for the WBC and WBO versions, and the 32 year-old known as ‘The Kidd’ carry plenty of top level experience into his 46th clash on May 5.
The Kings Hall will host the 24th edition of Prizefighter on the same night as McCloskey’s showdown with Diaz as the Irish Middleweights get it on, with unbeaten Commonwealth gold winner ‘King Kane’ Eamonn O’Kane, EBA champ Anthony ‘Fitzer’ Fitzgerald, Mark ‘Kid Dynamite’ Heffron, Joe ‘Sugar’ Rea, and Darren Cruise the first named confirmed by show promoter Eddie Hearn.
“If you imagine the best atmosphere of any Prizefighter to date, then crank it off the dial, I still don’t think you are close to what we are about to witness on May 5,” said Hearn. “Couple that with Paul McCloskey’s faithful army of incredible fans and I believe this has the potential to go down in history as one of the great Irish fight nights.”
Hearn also revealed that ticket details will be release at a press conference in Belfast next week.
WORLD BOXING COUNCIL NEWS
February 23, 2012 – Mexico City.
From the office of WBC President Dr. José Sulaimán:
BOXING SHOULD EMBRACE THE PARTIAL OPEN SCORING RULE
The World Boxing Council ratified unanimously the implementation of the partial open scoring rule to be used in WBC-sanctioned bouts. The rule allows the announcement of the official scoring of the judges after the 4th and 8th rounds.
The WBC has used open scoring for six years all around the world. The results have been extremely positive, without a single incident that would have compromised the integrity of the sport or the bout. To the contrary, the use of the rule has provided the fans at the arena and TV spectators great drama in the last four rounds. More importantly, the use of open scoring has given both fighters the fair opportunity to adjust their strategy during the fight.
The boxing community in general, and especially the fighters and trainers who have experienced the open scoring rule, are overwhelmingly in favor of its use.
The WBC Board of Governors also approved the option to use a limited form of open scoring. Under the limited rule, only the corners would receive the official scores after the 4th and 8th rounds. The limited rule intends to cover instances when the jurisdiction does not permit the announcement of the scores to the public.
The WBC would like to work with the Association of Boxing Commissions in the U.S. and with the commissions of every U.S. jurisdiction toward the implementation of some form of open scoring during WBC-sanctioned fights.
The State of Arkansas used open scoring during the Jermain Taylor versus Kassim Ouma fight on December 9, 2006. More recently, the State of Texas used the limited open scoring rule during the Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. versus Marco Antonio Rubio WBC middleweight championship fight.
“I am very happy with this practice. I thought I was winning with a clear advantage but in reality the judges had a much closer fight, so I gave it all in the last four rounds and I was victorious.” – Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.
“It is a wonderful rule. I had used it in Mexico before and it helped my strategy tremendously in this fight against Chavez.” – Hector Sanchez, trainer of Marco Antonio Rubio.
The links immediately below include very positive statements from Sugar Ray Leonard and Lennox Lewis about the open scoring rule upon being asked about it.
http://vimeo.com/37327389 (Sugar Ray Leonard)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoZVcv46uII (Lennox Lewis)
The WBC respects the authority and jurisdiction of each country, state, and local commission, and will work together with those agencies to try to establish the open scoring rule in the U.S. The WBC believes that the rule is a great tool for fighters to strive toward a just result. It also allows the fighters to act and react based on accurate and non-speculative information about the judges’ scores while the fight is still ongoing. In short, the open scoring rule prevents the surprise and shock that can come with learning that the actual scores are totally different from what each corner thought they were.
IABA UPDATE (2012 NATIONAL NOVICE CHAMPIONSHIPS)
The 2012 National Novice Championships begin at the National Stadium in Dublin this Friday evening.
The weigh-in for the Championships will be held between 8.30am and 10am and 12 noon and 1pm at the National Stadium Friday followed by the draw at 1.30pm.
Boxing – contingent on entries, details will be announced at draw.
Weights:
Men Kg: 48,51,54,57,60,64,67,71,75,81,85,91,91+
Women Kg: 46,48,50,52,54,57,60,63,66,70,75,80,86
Visit www.iaba.ie for entries updates, draws and results.