By David Kelly, Belfast Telegraph
Paul McCloskey will finally make the first defence of his European light-welterweight title on June 4 at the King’s Hall.
The unbeaten Dungiven man has been suffering from a back injury, which has delayed his mandatory defence against Italian Giuseppe Lauri but now it’s on.
The 30-year-old former British champion is hoping that victory over Lauri will push him up the world rankings as he seeks to march towards the cusp of a world title shot by the end of the year.
Veteran Lauri lost previous European title opportunities at the hands of Ted Bami and has been stopped by Junior Witter and Ricky Hatton, though he will come into the fight on the back of seven wins.
McCloskey is already ranked six by the WBC but is very keen to get a top ten rating with the WBA as he would earn a showdown with champion Amir Khan.
Meanwhile, David Haye has revealed negotiations with the Klitschko brothers will begin later this week as he seeks to unify the world heavyweight titles.
Wladimir Klitschko, the IBF and WBO champion, issued a video message taunting Britain's WBA title holder and calling for a showdown between the pair.
His older brother and WBC champion Vitali is also on Haye's radar and the Londoner confirmed yesterday that trainer and manager Adam Booth is set for talks with the Ukrainians.
Source: belfasttelegraph.co.uk
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