Skip to main content

McCloskey recovers from slow start to out-point Prescott

Phil D. Jay 
WBN Editor
‘Dudey’ wins WBA title eliminator in Belfast

Paul McCloskey is in line for a shot at WBA champion Marcos Maidana after a pulsating performance at the Odyssey Arena in Belfast where the Irishman gained a close unanimous decision.

The 32 year-old was put down in the first from a glancing blow which could have easily have been called a slip by referee Howard Foster and seemed to be hampered by nose damage throughout the fight.

‘Dudey’ felt Prescott’s power hard to deal with for the first four or five rounds until the Colombian seemed to tire in the second half of the fight and McCloskey took control from the eighth, winning four of the last five rounds on my card.

Prescott, 28, rallied in the twelfth and seemed to have done enough early on to take the decision although the judges disagreed giving the former European champion the victory 115-113 and 114-113 twice to earn McCloskey a second world title.

In the chief support bout, Carl Frampton improved to 11-0 and picked up the Commonwealth super-bantamweight title with a fourth round stoppage win over Australian Mark Quon.

I scored the bout 113-114 to Prescott and you can see my full scorecard here: http://www.worldboxingnews.net/2011/09/live-wbn-scorecard-paul-mccloskey-v.html

Popular posts from this blog

The Tragedy of Billy Collins Jr.

Phil D. Jay WBN Editor  Collins after the fight Williams Ray Collins Jr. or Billy Collins Jr. as he became known, was born to a boxing father in Antioch, Tennessee in 1961. His father William Sr, once fought Welterweight Champion Curtis Cokes and wanted his boy to follow in his footsteps, so decided to train Billy himself. Collins Jr. turned pro in 1981, a welterweight, just like his father before him and impressively won his first 14 professional contests, 11 by knockout with eight inside the first three rounds. It was 1983 and Billy was matched up against Puerto Rican journeyman Luis Resto on the undercard of Roberto Duran v Davey Moore at Madison Square Garden in a ten rounder. Resto wasn’t known for his punching power but Billy took a sustained beating for the full ten rounds, his face, badly damaged and his eyes were almost shut. After the fight, which Resto won on decision, Billy’s father shook Resto’s hand and noticed there wasn’t much padding in his gl...

Rico Ramos captures world super- bantamweight title with KO

Phil D. Jay WBN Editor ‘Suavecito’ scores 20th straight win over Shimoda Undefeated Californian Rico Ramos produced a world-class left hand in the seventh round of his WBA title challenge against Japan’s Akifumi Shimoda to rip the belt away from the older southpaw in his first defence. The 24 year-old looked far from a world champion in the first five rounds, only gaining a foothold in the fight in round six, but ultimately produced the equalizer in the seventh to take the crown. Shimoda, 26, will be furious with himself as he bossed the majority of the fight and was up five rounds to one on my card going into the seventh round. One lapse in concentration with only thirty seconds left in round seven and Shimoda hit the canvas. The champion tried to get up at the count of nine, but stumbled over and the referee counted him out. The now former champion stayed down for a full minute before being helped to his feet and realising he no longer held the WBA belt. Also on the card i...

Ashley Theophane talks US return, Ricky Burns sparring and future fights

Phil D. Jay  WBN Editor ‘Treasure’ training for August 24 return Former British light-welterweight champion Ashley Theophane is aiming to put the disappointment of his loss to Darren Hamilton behind him when he makes his comeback in Charlotte, North Carolina on August 24. The 31 year-old, who has fought some of the top fighters between 140 and 154lbs, planned to take 18 months out of chasing his world title dream to win a British Lonsdale belt outright and just fell short with points defeat to Hamilton in May after making two defences. The Londoner is now returning to the US to re-establish his headline status on American soil. He fights for the 38th time in his career against an opponent yet to be named at NC Music Factory’s Reelworks Studios and is currently preparing to get back to winning ways. “Training has gone well for this fight. I've been in the gym for nearly nine weeks so I'm in great shape and ready to go,” Theophane told World Boxing News. ...