Paul McCloskey v Giuseppe Lauri
There is no shortage of quality British light-welterweights these days and Paul McCloskey(pictured right in red against Darren Barker in their amateur days) is another looking to break through at international level.
The Northern Irishman faces Giuseppe Lauri tonight in Belfast in the first defence of his European title. The EBU strap is commonly regarded as an unofficial world-title shot eliminator, but with such a rich calibre of fighters in this particular weight division McCloskey is going to have to put on quite a performance to grab attention.
The skilful southpaw fighter is still proving himself at this level and fights with a perfect record which boasts a 50% KO rating. His last match up with Spaniard Daniel Rasilla saw a comfortable victory for “Dudey” who dropped Rasilla twice in the ninth round for an easy victory as he outclassed his opponent and took the vacant title.
McCloskey is a fighter who likes to take up residence in the centre of the ring and dictate proceedings with his technique. He sets the tempo with his right jab and looks to turn up the volume with a strong over hand left as the fight proceeds.
His opponent Lauri is a step up in calibre from Rasilla, but McCloskey should be able to come through this test. Lauri has previous form in this country, five fights in all, a resounding fifth-round KO defeat to a young Ricky Hatton was a tough introduction to these shores but he returned two years later to get destroyed in the second by Junior Witter. A pair of defeats to Ted Bami and a victory over also-ran Janos Petrovics completes his British series to date.
As a fighter Lauri is quite awkward, he sits behind a peek-a-boo stance and tries to pick his punches. He doesn’t have the natural ability of McCloskey but he’s been around long enough to have learned a few tricks.
The Italian has been seen lacking a bit of heart in some fights when things start going against him, he starts strongly but can often begin to wean as the rounds stack up. At 34 years old Lauri has a decent record of 50-6-0 but he has nowhere near the technical ability of McCloskey and could find himself slightly out of his depth tonight. His nickname is “The End” and there is a good chance that this may be his curtain call.
This a decent step up for McCloskey, the Northern Irishman is still learning his trade at this level and Lauri does offer a good test. He will be gritty and it may take a while for Duddy to wear him down. Ultimately though McCloskey has too much speed in his gloves and will outbox him with his superior ability. The further the fight goes the more comfortable it should be for McCloskey, but it won’t be a complete walk-over.
If McCloskey comes through this fight emphatically he has to join the back of the queue for a world-title shot. Timothy Bradley Jnr, Amir Khan, Devon Alexander and Marcos Maidana are the big names in this weight class, and then you have the likes of Victor Ortiz, Nate Campbell, Andry Kotelnik, Paul Malignaggi, Juan Urgano, plus a few others that move about the divisions and some domestic quality like the currently injured Junior Witter and exciting new comer Frankie Gavin.
So McCloskey's best bet might be to come through this defence and challenge a big international name in order try and establish himself on the world scene and earn his title shot the hard way.
McCloskey is going to want to prove he is no dude on the international scene tonight by making sure it’s the end for Lauri. After that he is going to need the luck of the Irish to stand out from the crowd and get a world title shot.
Prediction: McCloskey eighth round KO
It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Lauri burst out the blocks and try and take the fight to the champ at the start. However McCloskey should weather this storm, take up his spot in the centre of the ring and start throwing his jab to establish a distance and then back it up with sharp hooks and overhands.
As the fight wears on Lauri will absorb a lot of shots and he will probably meander around the ring, but find himself frustrated by the more technical McCloskey.
I can’t see this fight going the distance and fully expect McCloskey to KO his opponent sometime in the final third of the fight.
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