Paul McCloskey v Barry Morrison
As it stands the light-welterweight division is jam-packed with talent and to infiltrate the 10-stone class requires something special. This is the daunting task at hand for Paul McCloskey who defends his European title tomorrow night against Barry Morrison in Letterkenny.
The slick southpaw failed to impress in his last outing against Giuseppe Lauri and he know that if he wants to be in world title contention, fighting the likes of Amir Khan, Timothy Bradley Jnr and Devon Alexander then he is going to need to prove himself as a much better pugilist.
It was a dogged performance and although “Dudey” got the win he did so in agricultural fashion and would have done little to impress any scouts of the title organisations.
At his best McCloskey is a fighter who will get in tight the middle of the ring for some phone-box fighting. He has a very succinct right jab, decent overhand left and is a good technical fighter. Arguably he is perhaps lacking a bit in terms of flair but has an unblemished record with a decent KO success rate of 11 in his 21 victories.
Without question his best attribute is his head movement, a very difficult fighter to actually land a punch on and his face bares few scars from previous battles, although he ate a bit of leather against Lauri.
McCloskey hasn’t fought a great deal of quality fighters although he did improve the calibre of his opposition in the form of Italian warhorse Lauri, but the jury is still out on whether he is above European level or not.
Dudey’s opponent, Scotsman Barry Morrison is a fighter who has floated in the wildness between Domestic and European level for some time now. His card boasts the sole defeat of Lenny’ Daws career which Morrison scored back in 2007, but he also lost to the Londoner late last year. Aside from Daws the majority of fighters on the challenger’s record have poor records.
As a fighter he is not as experienced as his age would suggest. He’s 30-years old and has just 22 fights under his belt with a record of 18-4. He is a good body puncher although does lack some power landing just 8 KO’s but only suffering one himself.
He does hold an excellent nickname in “The Bizness” and possesses quick hands which he incorporates in his bouncy style; he’ll come after any fighter that allows him a chance to get in.
It’s a bit of a mismatch of style really. The test for McCloskey will be seeing how his head movement holds up against Morrison’s quick hands. After Lauri, McCloskey really needs to put on the show and if he wants to fight at the top level he needs to blast Morrison out early on.
Dudey says he has prepared well for this fight and is treating it almost like a title fight, he said on his official website: “I am generally a boxer, not a fighter, and I plan to show that in Letterkenny,
“This game is all about winning and I won and kept the belt last time out.
“That is what is important, but I plan to show my skill and put on a show.”
There is no question that McCloskey is by far the superior boxer, he showed against Lauri he can bang when his backs against the wall and if he has his eyes on a world title he needs to make this a short night’s work.
Prediction: McCloskey fourth-sixth round KO
Going by his record Morrison is probably quite fortunate to be getting this EBU shot because his card is full of wins over fighters who have losing records. McCloskey on the other hand has much to prove if he wants to gatecrash one of the toughest divisions around.
It is likely Morrison will come out bouncing and throwing quick combos, McCloskey movement should be too polished for this and he can counteract Morrison’s style by grabbing the fight by the scruff of the neck and grinding The Bizness down with his superior technique.
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