Next up for McCloskey

[Hagler2002]

A rematch with Lauri apparently, maybe not a bad thing as there isn't many options out there at the moment.

[ThereByTheGrace]

McCloskey is well avoided through no fault of his own - no one at world level sees much money to be made fighting him and also he has great ability and is hard to hit.

It's a real shame but he has to keep plugging away and Im sure he'll get his chance eventually.

[29sek]

I'd like to see him against someone like Kotelnik next, if he beats him he'll be very highly ranked by everybody & it'll boost his profile a lot. Then he can make a case for himself fighting the big guns.

[Autobarn]

victor ortiz seems to be fighting kotelnik.

[Lenny]

I'd like to see him against someone like Kotelnik next, if he beats him he'll be very highly ranked by everybody & it'll boost his profile a lot. Then he can make a case for himself fighting the big guns.

Very bad style matchup for McCloskey in my opinion. I also feel beating a guy Khan shut out won't boost his profile too much with fans over here plus I would make him quite a big underdog.

Lauri is a good fight for him, he needs to improve on their first fight before he starts looking towards world class

[Autobarn]

mccloskey has great talent, massive boxing ability but is quite old. it is a shame to see meaningless fights like lauri rematch.

hopefully he can get his name out there. he would match up best with tim bradley.

thing is, mccloskey looks well soft on the chest and hips & you have to wonder how he'd last in a higher level, tougher fight. compare him to lean or ripped guys like khan, bradley and alexander.

right now HBO are showcasing alexander, khan, bradley, ortiz. there seem to be problems matching them. they need capable or marketable opponents. what can mac do to get his name out there? he hasn't got forever. he can't play the waiting game like some of these younger gusy can, surely.

[Josh1111]

Why doesn't he fight Ajose Olusegun? They both think they're being avoided and Olusegun is highly ranked. Easy fight to make surely?

[El Raincoat]

I'm a big fan of McCloskey he's been very impressive of late. Not sure what another fight with Lauri does for him. He only fights about twice a year and is 31 so that likely means that if Lauri is in the first quarter of 2011 then he wont fight until the fall against another opponent that hardly moves him on. I do appreciate his predicament though. They may either need to take the short end and leave Northern Ireland or offer soemone a boat load of money.

[Autobarn]

you'd think he'd beable to handle olusegun, strong, fit but crude and very wide with his shots.

but doesn't he want to have as many EBU titlte defenses as possible? isn't olusegun available only for commonwealth title fights?

if olusegun is still well rated by the WBC and they can get an elim, however...

is the irishman highly rated enough?

[Hagler2002]

I'm a big fan of McCloskey he's been very impressive of late. Not sure what another fight with Lauri does for him. He only fights about twice a year and is 31 so that likely means that if Lauri is in the first quarter of 2011 then he wont fight until the fall against another opponent that hardly moves him on. I do appreciate his predicament though. They may either need to take the short end and leave Northern Ireland or offer soemone a boat load of money.

It was apparently something to do with a bodged drugs test after their first fight so they ordered a rematch, so its either give up the European strap or fight Lauri again.

[mickey1975]

I'm a big fan of McCloskey he's been very impressive of late. Not sure what another fight with Lauri does for him. He only fights about twice a year and is 31 so that likely means that if Lauri is in the first quarter of 2011 then he wont fight until the fall against another opponent that hardly moves him on. I do appreciate his predicament though. They may either need to take the short end and leave Northern Ireland or offer soemone a boat load of money.

It was apparently something to do with a bodged drugs test after their first fight so they ordered a rematch, so its either give up the European strap or fight Lauri again.

Plus the fact it was a sly punch that knocked Lauri out......

[stujones]

you'd think he'd beable to handle olusegun, strong, fit but crude and very wide with his shots.

but doesn't he want to have as many EBU titlte defenses as possible? isn't olusegun available only for commonwealth title fights?

if olusegun is still well rated by the WBC and they can get an elim, however...

is the irishman highly rated enough?

I think Oluseggun is scheduled to fight in an eliminator against that French Candian who features a lot on Eurosport (name is escaping me)..... I think McCloskey is ranked #4 with the WBC - so might get in the picture if Olsegun wins the eliminator but cannot secure the title shot.

I'm not sure if Ajose can fight for the EBU title, being a former British champion I assume he can.

[HomeOfBritishBoxing]

you'd think he'd beable to handle olusegun, strong, fit but crude and very wide with his shots.

but doesn't he want to have as many EBU titlte defenses as possible? isn't olusegun available only for commonwealth title fights?

if olusegun is still well rated by the WBC and they can get an elim, however...

is the irishman highly rated enough?

I think Oluseggun is scheduled to fight in an eliminator against that French Candian who features a lot on Eurosport (name is escaping me)..... I think McCloskey is ranked #4 with the WBC - so might get in the picture if Olsegun wins the eliminator but cannot secure the title shot.

I'm not sure if Ajose can fight for the EBU title, being a former British champion I assume he can.

he is fighting ali chebah in a wbc eliminator on 1st november in algeria.

[29sek]

I'd like to see him against someone like Kotelnik next, if he beats him he'll be very highly ranked by everybody & it'll boost his profile a lot. Then he can make a case for himself fighting the big guns.

Very bad style matchup for McCloskey in my opinion. I also feel beating a guy Khan shut out won't boost his profile too much with fans over here plus I would make him quite a big underdog.

Lauri is a good fight for him, he needs to improve on their first fight before he starts looking towards world class

To be honest I think Kotelnik would beat McCloskey but no risk, no reward. It would also boost his profile about a million times!!! I was also talking about him fighting Kotelnik after Lauri as I was under the impression McCloskey had to fight Lauri again & rightly so!

[El Raincoat]

I'm a big fan of McCloskey he's been very impressive of late. Not sure what another fight with Lauri does for him. He only fights about twice a year and is 31 so that likely means that if Lauri is in the first quarter of 2011 then he wont fight until the fall against another opponent that hardly moves him on. I do appreciate his predicament though. They may either need to take the short end and leave Northern Ireland or offer soemone a boat load of money.

It was apparently something to do with a bodged drugs test after their first fight so they ordered a rematch, so its either give up the European strap or fight Lauri again.

Hopefully he doesn't have 6 months away from the ring and this fight happens in the first couple of months because i think McCloskey needs to try to move on and if this fight was to end up for example next April, May i'd say to McCloskey to try to get a title eliminator or something. I rate him highly just wish he'd be a bit busier.

[Lenny]

I'd like to see him against someone like Kotelnik next, if he beats him he'll be very highly ranked by everybody & it'll boost his profile a lot. Then he can make a case for himself fighting the big guns.

Very bad style matchup for McCloskey in my opinion. I also feel beating a guy Khan shut out won't boost his profile too much with fans over here plus I would make him quite a big underdog.

Lauri is a good fight for him, he needs to improve on their first fight before he starts looking towards world class

To be honest I think Kotelnik would beat McCloskey but no risk, no reward. It would also boost his profile about a million times!!! I was also talking about him fighting Kotelnik after Lauri as I was under the impression McCloskey had to fight Lauri again & rightly so!

I know what you mean, it's going to be tough for someone like McCloskey as he needs that big win to get up with the main boys but there just doesn't seem to be a window for him. Kotelnik seems to be having doors opened for him now being a former champ with a disputed decision against Alexander behind him. I just can't see McCloskey getting a break before his skills start to go unfortunately with his style

[El Raincoat]

Very bad style matchup for McCloskey in my opinion. I also feel beating a guy Khan shut out won't boost his profile too much with fans over here plus I would make him quite a big underdog.

Lauri is a good fight for him, he needs to improve on their first fight before he starts looking towards world class

To be honest I think Kotelnik would beat McCloskey but no risk, no reward. It would also boost his profile about a million times!!! I was also talking about him fighting Kotelnik after Lauri as I was under the impression McCloskey had to fight Lauri again & rightly so!

I know what you mean, it's going to be tough for someone like McCloskey as he needs that big win to get up with the main boys but there just doesn't seem to be a window for him. Kotelnik seems to be having doors opened for him now being a former champ with a disputed decision against Alexander behind him. I just can't see McCloskey getting a break before his skills start to go unfortunately with his style

Sometimes you can get your break by being around awhile and if he can make multiple European title defence's but i think he's to good for his own good in many ways. He's not had that many pro fights so hopefully he still has a few years in him. I agree though he's in an awkward spot. To much risk verses little reward.

[stujones]

I wonder if McCloskey would earn some popularity if he set a few fights in the states.

[bennie]

you'd think he'd beable to handle olusegun, strong, fit but crude and very wide with his shots.

but doesn't he want to have as many EBU titlte defenses as possible? isn't olusegun available only for commonwealth title fights?

if olusegun is still well rated by the WBC and they can get an elim, however...

is the irishman highly rated enough?

I think Oluseggun is scheduled to fight in an eliminator against that French Candian who features a lot on Eurosport (name is escaping me)..... I think McCloskey is ranked #4 with the WBC - so might get in the picture if Olsegun wins the eliminator but cannot secure the title shot.

I'm not sure if Ajose can fight for the EBU title, being a former British champion I assume he can.

Perennial light-welterweight contender Ajuse Olusegun finally draws close to a major world title shot when he faces French puncher Ali Chebah in a WBC title eliminator. It is scheduled for Algeria on November 1, for 12 rounds.
The 30-year-old Olusegun, a Nigerian who lives and fights out of London, turned pro back in 2001, after representing his country in the Sydney Olympics, and cracked the WBC top 10 a few years later but has since been avoided or gone round in circles, beating fellow southpaw Nigel Wright on a 12-round decision in 2008 and then again last year, on the way to a stop-start 28-0 (14).
The muscular Olusegun can really fight but this looms as a tough away assignment against the younger, busier Chebah, 25, who poses a threat to anyone at 33-1 (26) and has made Algeria his base in recent fights, so most of the standard advantages go his way. His one loss came against Mexico’s towering Reyes Sanchez two years ago in Mexico City, which is hardly the easiest city in the world in which to fight, as Willie Limond discovered, and Chebah, who was stopped in seven rounds, has rebounded with five wins on the trot, four of them early.
You know, Chebah has stopped 23 of his last 24 victims, punctuated by the Sanchez loss, which reminds me a little of Nigel Benn’s form prior to Michael Watson, and one could compare the slick, talented, quick-handed Olusegun to the polished Watson - a boxer more than puncher, with all the moves and good staying power. Ajose does have a real chance of outboxing and outsmarting the relatively untested Chebah, particularly if he starts well and rides out the early attacks of the Frenchman.
Chebah has never travelled beyond 10 rounds, and only once at that.
Nevertheless, Olusgen’s 30 long years and long spells of inactivity, and an increasingly complacent attitude in the ring, make me feel that Chebah is the man most likely to prevail next month, probably on a hard-earned decision.

[29sek]

To be honest I think Kotelnik would beat McCloskey but no risk, no reward. It would also boost his profile about a million times!!! I was also talking about him fighting Kotelnik after Lauri as I was under the impression McCloskey had to fight Lauri again & rightly so!

I know what you mean, it's going to be tough for someone like McCloskey as he needs that big win to get up with the main boys but there just doesn't seem to be a window for him. Kotelnik seems to be having doors opened for him now being a former champ with a disputed decision against Alexander behind him. I just can't see McCloskey getting a break before his skills start to go unfortunately with his style

Do you think Willie Limond would be a good fight for him? He put in pretty good performances vs Khan & Morales. He could probably get fights with guys like Lenny Daws but I'm not sure if they'd open any doors for him. It's about time we saw Salita get knocked out again maybe he could fight him.

Sometimes you can get your break by being around awhile and if he can make multiple European title defence's but i think he's to good for his own good in many ways. He's not had that many pro fights so hopefully he still has a few years in him. I agree though he's in an awkward spot. To much risk verses little reward.

[lefty]

Mccloskey is clearly a talented boxer with good reflexes but is he really good enough to beat the likes of Khan,Bradley,Alexander,Ortiz,Maidana and Kotelnik?!Im not sure!I think he's too easy to hit with his hands held low and particularily fast guys will have a field day with that flaw!