McCloskey v Lauri

[Wheelchair]

As the season begins to wind down, big fights become increasingly hard to come by but on Friday night, Sky Sports delivers a glimmer of hope in the form of Paul McCloskey’s European title defence against Giuseppe Lauri, live from 10.30pm.

 

The eagle-eyed amongst us will note the slightly later start time to the ever popular Friday Fight Night; this is to make room for Sky’s live coverage of the Hampshire v Somerset cricket match. Who says the noble art isn’t respected by television bosses?

 

30-year-old Paul McCloskey carries the nickname ‘Dudey’ but perhaps ‘The Silent Assassin’ would prove a more fitting handle as the Irishman tears his way through the 10 stone division with minimum fuss.

 

Having enjoyed a hugely successive amateur career, the man from Londonderry narrowly missed out on a place at the 2004 Olympic Games before turning his back on the computer scoring and two minute rounds in favour of regular pay. Since halting journeyman David Kehoe in three rounds on his vestless debut in 2005, McCloskey carved out an undefeated run which saw him collect his first honour, an IBF Intercontinental title, courtesy of a 2007 stoppage win over Bulgarian scrapper Tontcho Tontchev.

 

This was to be but a stepping stone for the ambitious southpaw however as, after only 17 starts, he battered Englishman Colin Lynes into submission to get his hands on the much sought after Lonsdale strap. No domestic fighter has dominated this once popular division for some time now and after only one successful defence, a fourth round stoppage over Wolverhampton’s Dean Harrison, he made a step up in class to record another inside the distance victory, this time over Spanish warrior Daniel Rasilla, adding the European belt to his trophy haul.

 

With 20 wins, 10 inside the scheduled duration, against no defeats McCloskey is fast becoming one of the sports hottest properties. He is ranked only third in the current UK ratings behind Amir Khan and an inactive Junior Witter but the up and comer will be looking to close the gap on the Hitter with a convincing defence here.

 

Fight fans who believe McCloskey’s progress will continue can find him no bigger than Sky Bet’s 1/10 offering.

 

Giuseppe Lauri may be an Italian living in Hungary but the 34 year old is no stranger to British fight fans, or indeed British fighters. The well travelled veteran has boxed on these shores on five occasions already, winning only once but considering those defeats have come to the likes of Ricky Hatton, Junior Witter and Ted Bami, we can cut him some slack.

 

Lauri’s prize haul already includes WBF, WBA and WBO Intercontinental crowns as well as Italian and European titles and he enters this clash off the back of a three year undefeated run. The visitors last two opponents can only be referred to as journeymen however and with six defeats already on his record, the man dubbed ‘The End’ may just live up to his billing.

 

Bet365 think Lauri’s best days are well and truly behind him and trade at as big as 7/1 about the title boarding a plane.

 

The Italian has had no fewer than 36 fights more than his opponent and it’s safe to assume that he has learnt a fair bit along the way, tricks he will be looking to call upon on fight night. Lauri has fallen short at only the highest level against fighters who have gone on to make a lot of money from the sport. Many thought his ship had sailed at this level but you can’t argue with his eight fight undefeated run and he fully deserves the chance to dispute major honours.

 

At 34 years old you’ve got to wonder how many air miles Giuseppe has left in him however. The local community will come out in force to support McCloskey. He is the younger, taller and undoubtedly hungrier of the two with a complicated southpaw style to back it all up.

 

Both Hatton and Witter did Lauri early and although he won’t admit it, McCloskey will be looking to put on a performance against the same opponent that can be compared to these greats. He made his pro debut in Belfast’s Kings Hall and a return to that venue on Friday should see him keep up what he started.

 

Ireland’s pride has recorded all of his stoppage wins inside ten rounds and another night off for the ringside judges can be backed at 4/5 (Skybet). Both possess heavy hands, demonstrated by their impressive KO average and this meeting not reaching the 9.5 round stage can be invested in at 6/5 with Stan James.

 

http://news.boxrec.com/news/2010/friday-night-betting-mccloskey-v-lauri?

[Wheelchair]

PAUL McCloskey hopes a win on Friday takes him closer to an all-British world title fight with Amir Khan.

 

McCloskey, 30, makes the first defence of his European Light-Welterweight Championship when he takes on Italian Giuseppe Lauri at the King’s Hall in Belfast.

 

Northern Irishman McCloskey, who will be fighting in front of his home crowd, believes a good performance could lead to a shot at WBA title holder Khan.

 

“I’m very confident of winning the fight and I’m in great shape,” said McCloskey, winner of all 20 of his professional contests. I’ve seen him on a DVD and he’s very experienced, he’s been around the block and is very clever. But some good boxers have beaten him and I’ve seen some of his defeats. He likes to control the fight and fight at his pace but I’m going to do something he doesn’t like and take the fight from him."

 

“It’s been a roller-coaster ride so far but I’m getting better and I’m hoping to climb the ladder as quickly as possible. I think I can go on and fight for World Championships and someone like Amir Khan I know I could beat him. Amir Khan is now in America and all I can do is keep moving up the ladder. I think I’m the WBC number eight so I’m getting close to being number one. To be fair to Amir Khan he has improved but he’s still vulnerable and not a superstar just yet. He’s getting better but he’s not unbeatable and he’s had a few fights where he’s looked vulnerable. He’s a very good boxer but people are talking about him in the same breath as Manny Pacquiao which is ridiculous. It’s nice to know that if I keep winning I’m there or thereabouts to fight him.”

 

Ex-Italian champion Lauri is four years older than McCloskey and has twice fought for the European belt before but lost on each occasion to Brixton’s Ted Bami.

 

Despite the potential showdown with Khan in the future for McCloskey, he insists he will not be complacent and under-estimate a fighter who has won 50 of 56 bouts.

 

“I never take my mind off the next job and that job is on Friday,” added McCloskey. Every fight I’ve had, I’ve won comfortably but you always have to be ready for whatever comes your way. To headline at the King’s Hall will be fantastic and you look at the past names that have fought there. If I beat Lauri, the mandatory challenger, then it will be a massive boost for my career.”

 

http://matchroomsport.com/articleDetail.asp?IntArticleID=1453

[Wheelchair]

Graham Houston's preview.......

 

Promoter Brian Peters feels that his unbeaten junior welterweight Paul McCloskey is a fighter with world championship potential. McCloskey’s trainer, ex-boxer John Breen, goes even further. “Paul is so far ahead of most of the guys he’s been in with that he hasn't been properly tested yet,” Breen told the media from his Belfast gym. “He’s world class and there’s no doubt in my mind that he can win a world title. People talk about Amir Khan but I think that would be an easy fight for Paul. He’s up there with the very best of them, he just needs the chance to prove it.”

 

The southpaw from northern Ireland has been doing everything anyone could have asked of him, winning British and European titles at 140 pounds, and he has stopped his last three opponents.

 

On Friday, McCloskey defends his European title against the veteran Italian, Giuseppe Lauri, at the King’s Hall, Belfast, with TV coverage on Sky.

 

Lauri is on a run of eight successive wins but although very experienced he goes into Friday’s fight as big underdog. He lost twice to Ted Bami, a hard hitter but who lacks world-class quality, in European title bouts in the U.K., and on earlier British visits he was stopped by Ricky Hatton and Junior Witter.

 

The main interest on Friday will be how McCloskey looks, and, of course, whether he can stop Lauri.

 

McCloskey has been punching hard in his last few fights. In his last fight he hammered an overmatched Spanish challenger in nine rounds.

 

Lauri is competent but fails when he steps up to meet the higher-calibre type of fighter. He has, though, had a couple of good wins in the past few years, stopping Italian rival Michele Di Rocco (surprisingly, Di Rocco simply gave up in the seventh round of a competitive fight) and defeating Juho Tolppola in Finland, a fight in which his opponent was disqualified for frequent infringements of the rules.

 

It has always seemed to me that Lauri is unhappy under pressure, and McCloskey will likely be taking the fight to him. However, McCloskey boxes in a cool, calculating manner and Lauri — as long as he doesn’t get hit by a flush shot — might have the seasoning and boxing knowledge to take the fight into the later rounds.

 

If Lauri feels he cannot win, he might settle for trying to survive the 12 rounds, and he could do this. I don’t see a quick ending in this fight, but Lauri is in a tough spot against an ambitious fighter who will be looking to win impressively in an historic venue that has been the site of some of Northern Ireland’s biggest fights. I can see Lauri getting worn down and stopped, perhaps around the 10th round.

[LondonRingRules]

Graham Houston's preview.......

 

....... I can see Lauri getting worn down and stopped, perhaps around the 10th round.

 

------- Graham only slipped a bit with an 11th rd stop of Lauri.

 

McC has some talent, but he looks amazingly soft and surely could be shifting some weight around. As far as calling Khan out, forget it. Khan is beatable, but not by McC at this point in their developments.

 

Good pace and shot selection, but a bit slow handed at times and not bright to switch up tactics after being warned by the ref repeatedly for leading with his head. He would need either more power or better boxing to have a chance against the elite of the division. so good show and more power to him.

 

Looked brilliant on the mitts, but didn't see those blazing combos in the ring, so he needs to work more on application and keep racheting up his class of opponent.

[iamasadlittleboy]

Graham Houston's preview.......

 

....... I can see Lauri getting worn down and stopped, perhaps around the 10th round.

 

------- Graham only slipped a bit with an 11th rd stop of Lauri.

 

McC has some talent, but he looks amazingly soft and surely could be shifting some weight around. As far as calling Khan out, forget it. Khan is beatable, but not by McC at this point in their developments.

 

Good pace and shot selection, but a bit slow handed at times and not bright to switch up tactics after being warned by the ref repeatedly for leading with his head. He would need either more power or better boxing to have a chance against the elite of the division. so good show and more power to him.

 

Looked brilliant on the mitts, but didn't see those blazing combos in the ring, so he needs to work more on application and keep racheting up his class of opponent.

 

 

got the feeling he was trying to turn it into a battle for his home fans as he's a lot lot better thna he showed tonight. If he landed that shot on Khan poor Khon would still be snoring