Amir Khan to defend WBA title against Paul McCloskey
World Boxing Association (WBA) light-welterweight title holder, Amir Khan, is going to defend his crown against unbeaten European Boxing Union (EBU) light-welterweight title holder, Paul McCloskey, on 16 April, 2011. The Briton will face the Northern Irishman
at the MEN Arena in Manchester.
It was expected that Khan’s defence would be against Victor Ortiz or Zab Judah but he and his father, Shah, have clarified their intentions of fighting against the 31-year-old McCloskey. Khan convinced McCloskey to participate in the bout by offering him
three times more than he received from his last prize-fight. Negotiations with McCloskey had been stopped two times in the past week. After heated debate, McCloskey is happy and willing to fight with King Khan.
It is a dream match-up for English boxing fans and a golden chance to see two home-grown stars standing face to face in the ring. The fight is still tentative because the event can only take place if both the fighters are free of conflicts and agree to fight
on the defined final terms.
In the process of choosing his next opponent, Khan was in negotiations with other fighters as well. American, Lamont Peterson, was one such fighter. He pulled out after having monetary conflicts with Khan. Peterson demanded a “huge number” which the Khan
camp could nor or was unwilling to pay.
The 24-year-old Khan is excited because this is his first fight since 2009 in his native England. “Amir is back. The King is back. It’s his homecoming, his first fight at home in over 12 months,” said Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer and Khan’s promoter.
Adding to this Schafer said “He is excited to take on an undefeated fighter.”
This is his consecutive fourth defence of the title. Amir Khan fought two times last year in the United States by successfully conquering Paulie Malignaggi and Marcos Maidana. Khan is quickly becoming a star in the boxing world with 24 wins, 17 by KOs and
one loss.
The 31-year-old McCloskey has said that this will be the biggest night of his life. According to McCloskey, Khan is not a good puncher and he expects to win against him. He also added that undoubtedly Khan has dramatically improved his boxing strategies,
which can be seen in his last match but he is still lacking boxing skill.
McCloskey’s has a record of 22 wins, 12 by KO and no loss. The caliber of his previous fights were definitely not at the same level as Khan’s but he still anticipates a win. His last match was against Daniel Rasilla for the vacant European title and was
able to stop him in the ninth round. The quick puncher has defended his title twice and is considered one of the better fighters in Europe.
Khan has made an offer to Paul’s people and now it is up to them to decide whether to accept it or reject it. Khan is expecting to attend news conferences along with McCloskey, hopefully in Manchester and Belfast. Later on this week, he will leave for trainer
Freddie Roach’s Wild Card gym in Hollywood to train and prepare for the battle in Britain.
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