Dungiven’s outstanding light welterweight prospect Paul McCloskey has European Champion, Colin Lynes in his sights, following his dismantle of highly-rated Mexican fighter Manuel Garnica in Limerick on Saturday night.

 

by Chris McCannsport@derrypost.com 

 

The stylish southpaw took his professional record to 15-0 (7KO) with referee David Irving awarding him the fight on a margin of 98-93, and believes he’s now ready to challenge for a major title.

 

 

“The next 12 to 18 months are going to be very big for me. I’m 28 now and I’m probably in the prime of my sporting life. You get to a stage where you have to step-up, if you haven’t won a title by a certain point then you’re probably never going to win one. In 18 months time I’d like to be European Champion.

 

 

“Obviously, there are a lot of things that can happen on the way but I was over in England last weekend to see Colin Lynes defend his European title against Juho Tolppola. Lynes is a class fighter but I didn’t see anything that I couldn’t deal with,” he said.

 

 

On Saturday night McCloskey displayed the cleaner and more accurate punches. The former St Canice’s ABC boxer took charge of the fight from the initial stages behind his right jab and he landed his left hand consistently.

 

 

Garnica’s chin and stamina saw him through to the end but McCloskey’s sharpness never dropped and he admitted to being satisfied with his night’s work.

 

 

“I was ready for a hard fight and it was tough but I was pretty much in control from the start. He was a strong tough opponent, just what you’d expect of a Mexican fighter. He threw a few low blows and tried to catch me with his head a few times but that was probably frustration on his part. I was happy enough with my performance but you can’t afford to ignore the negatives. That’s what you have to work on to improve.

 

 

“It was billed as an acid test for me and I think I dealt with it well. I hurt my left a wee bit in the fourth round but I had to keep throwing it. There were a couple of times when I had him on the ropes and you know when a guy is getting it tight. To be honest I wasn’t unhappy to have it go the distance as it’s the first time I have ever gone 10 rounds before. You work hard in training but until you’ve done it you never know how you’ll cope. It’s good for the confidence to have gone the distance,” he said.

 

 

McCloskey’s next outing will see him topping the bill in Letterkenny on March 22 when he will be hoping that promoter Brian Peters delivers on his promise of “a former world champion” as his opponent.

 

 

“My next fight will be in Letterkenny next month and I’m hoping for another tough opponent. At this stage I’m looking for more top class fights and ideally I want a big name,” said McCloskey.