McCloskey: I made Khan look pretty average on Saturday night -- The Score

By Niall Kelly, thescore.ie

PAUL MCCLOSKEY HAS rubbished suggestions that Amir Khan is one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world at present, claiming that he made the WBA Super-Lightweight Champion look “pretty average” during their fight on Saturday evening.

Referee Luis Pabon and ringside doctor Fraser Pinkney ordered the bout to be stopped after just six rounds when an accidental clash of heads left McCloskey with a nasty looking gash above his right eye. The fight was decided by the ringside judges who unanimously awarded all six rounds to the defending champion.

Though McCloskey’s camp were furious with the premature stoppage and have lodged an official complaint with boxing’s authorities, Khan has already started to plot his next move, eyeing up a divisional reunification contest with American Timothy Bradley before taking on stablemate Manny Pacquiao, the man currently regarded by many as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.

Speaking to Newstalk’s Off The Ball last night, the Dungiven man laughed off suggestions that Khan could even be considered in the same class, saying that the Briton had done nothing of note during their six rounds in the ring together.

“Anybody with a brain or anybody who knows anything about boxing knows that those six rounds were pretty close,” McClosksey said.

I made Amir Khan who has been recognised as one of the best pound-for-pound boxers in the world look pretty average and pretty ordinary. He was doing no damage to me whatsoever.
Describing himself as “completely gutted” and “mesmerised” by Saturday night’s events, the previously-undefeated 31-year-old said that his plan was to let Khan tire himself out as he sought to score an early and impressive knockout in front of the British crowd.

“To be fair, I was behind on points but we had a bit of a gameplan,” McCloskey said. “We knew he was going to come out early on and try to blast me away because he was trying to impress the crowd and he’d a bit of job to do.”

“I could feel the difference even in the number of punches that were coming my way. The number of punches per round were coming down, he wasn’t making me work as much, so we were going to up the tempo in the second half of the fight.”

The Northerner also dismissed Khan’s suggestion that a knockout was imminent had the bout not been waved off as post-fight bluster, saying “talk’s cheap at that stage.”

He said that at the press conference, but to be honest anything I put to him at the press conference, he couldn’t answer me back.

He’s very good at talking the talk once the event’s over, but he was quiet before the fight and up to that point.

Although he conceded that the chances of Khan agreeing to rematch were “slim,” McCloskey said that the manner in which the fight ended has done his future prospects no harm at all.

“To come out of the fight the way I did, it does my ranking no harm. I’m still highly ranked, and I’ve no doubt that I’ll be back fighting for a title in the very near future – if not this title then another one.”

Source: thescore.ie

AMIR KHAN IS CUT OUT FOR TILT AT TIM BRADLEY -- UK Express

By Niall Hickman, express.co.uk

AMIR KHAN can sail serenely towards a showdown with his hero Manny Pacquiao and ignore the spurious calls for a rematch from Paul McCloskey’s camp.

Boxing’s authorities may have shot themselves in the foot for a second time only a few months after the Audley Harrison-David Haye fiasco by calling a premature halt to McCloskey’s challenge, but the Ulsterman was never in danger of taking Khan’s WBA world light- welterweight title.

After a clash of heads in the sixth round, the ring doctor ruled that McCloskey’s cut was too severe to continue. McCloskey has probably cut himself worse in the shaving mirror, so to take away his stab at stardom was wrong and cruel.

British Boxing Board of Control secretary Robert Smith said: “I have absolutely no problem with the competence of the doctor. Fraser Pinkney is very experienced, has worked with the board for many years and it was his judgment call. He felt there would be a considerable amount of blood getting into McCloskey’s eye.”

The fact that Khan had bossed each round by an increasing margin means calls for a rematch should be ignored and McCloskey’s cut, requiring just seven stitches, cannot cloud the simple truth that he would not beat the champion in a month of Sundays. McCloskey does not have the tools to beat a global talent like Khan.

It was not vintage Khan – he took two or three rounds to find his range against an elusive opponent – but it was enough to prove that under Freddie Roach’s tutelage he is now ready for the step up to Tim Bradley. They are close to securing a fight in Las Vegas on July 23.

Roach said: “I know Tim Bradley well and he is one hell of a fighter, but would I put Amir in with him in the ring tomorrow and expect my boxer to win? Yes I would.

“Their fight will determine who is the best at 140lbs and then the winner should go up to 147lbs and take on Manny Pacquiao. That is my feeling.”

Khan admits he is desperate to unify the titles as the Californian holds the WBC and WBO belts.


“Bradley and me belong in the same class, world class, whereas I have proven that McCloskey does not,” said Khan.

“Bradley is a good fighter but that’s just going to push me and motivate me.

“Bradley is quick, fast on his feet and he can punch. He is a proven world champion.

“When I go back to LA for my training camp, knowing it is Bradley I’m fighting is going to push me even more.

“I have to go over to America and take his world titles but I am very willing to do that.

“I want to be in with Tim Bradley next. What would be the point of a rematch with McCloskey? It was an easy fight for me.”

Khan showed in glimpses some of the lightning hand speed which has made him such a marketable talent and although he will be facing a far more formidable opponent in Bradley, he has the tools to win Stateside.

Khan may not have liked to beat McCloskey this way, but compared to Harrison v Haye, this was at least a contest.

Source: express.co.uk

Amir Khan: On Katie Price, drugs and growing up -- The Independent

By Alan Hubbard, The Independent

It was nine years ago this month that I first encountered Amir Khan. He was competing in the English Schools Championships in Barnsley and an amateur boxing contact had marked my card about a "sensational" 15-year-old from Bolton. "The best kid of his age you'll ever see."

He was right. Young Amir, all flashing fists and scurrying feet, demolished his opponents in quick time, went on to become the Olympic lightweight silver medallist at 17 and, four years later, the WBA world light-welterweight champion.

It is some journey from Barnsley to Baguio City in the Philippines, where I tracked down Khan to chat about his upcoming title defence in Manchester against Ulster's unbeaten European champion Paul McCloskey on 16 April.

He is training there with the fabulous Filipino Manny Pacquiao, his new best friend and stablemate, in a state-of-the-art high altitude complex complete with running track and swimming pool. A far cry from his days as a schoolboy scrapper.

Over the years he has hit a few headlines as well as his opponents, though he is adamant that fame, the considerable fortune he has already amassed and the A-list company he keeps in Hollywood have not turned his head. "I'm still the same person I always was. I may look arrogant in the ring but I've always been humble. More so now because even though he is the greatest boxer in the world Manny is incredibly humble. He is an example to me, and I try to be an example to youngsters back home."

The point is well made because, at 24, Khan is not the first to discover that celebrity comes at a price. In his case Katie Price, aka Jordan, some tabloids suggesting – erroneously, he insists – that they may have indulged in a spot of horizontal sparring.

"I've learned to live with this sort of thing, it's not got to me one bit," he says. "There's absolutely nothing gone on between us. The media made it out that me and Katie were seeing each other and stuff but they've got the wrong end of the stick, we are just friends and we have only ever talked with each other. I think she is a really nice person, nothing like what people say about her in the press. Actually there are a lot of things that I am alleged to have done that I haven't." In fact there is no particular girl in his life at the moment. "I'm young and single, and married to boxing."

Having cleared that up, Khan is also happy to put the record straight about the split with his conditioning coach, Alex Ariza, following his gruelling title defence against Marcos Maidana, which Khan came close to losing in a dramatic 10th round.

The break-up, he says, had nothing to do with unfounded rumours of illegal pills and power potions being used in the Pacquiao camp – largely fuelled by Floyd Mayweather Jnr – of which he is now part. "It was nothing like that. We simply moved on. Alex was also working with Manny but now I have someone [nutritionist Michael Vale] who is working only with me. Alex and I still say hello to each other; after all, it's a professional game. But you have to do what you feel is best for yourself.

"The drugs rumours were upsetting but I can honestly say that I have never seen anything like that happening. People always say when someone is successful: 'Ah, but they take drugs, don't they?' Well, in my case it's simply not true, nor is it in Manny's.

"I've never been approached to take anything and it's something I will always stay away from, in or outside the ring. Drugs can ruin your career, people can be destroyed by drugs, and I am determined that is not going to happen to mine. I keep on training hard because it is boxing that's got me where I am and I'm not going to let that slip away."

However, Khan does admit to being annoyed at Ariza accusing his father of using Amir as a meal ticket "because he doesn't want to go back to driving cabs for a living". In fact Shah Khan is a successful businessman. "Some of the things he said about my father were very unfair, though they were said in the heat of the moment and I am sure he feels bad about it now. I didn't get that much involved, but my team thought it was best for a change.

"I'll be really strong in this fight," he adds. "I have been working on new things with Michael, tweaking things, making it a little bit tougher. I've also changed my diet and gone very organic, eating the right food at the right time, lots of fish and fresh vegetables. Now I understand what I'm eating and why I'm eating it. It's like having a petrol car, you don't put diesel in it."

Khan flies back from the Philippines today and trainer Freddie Roach will join him next week. "He'll be taking a break from preparing Manny for his next fight [against Shane Mosley] so it will be good to have him with me. I want to get this fight out of the way and then concentrate on a unification bout with Tim Bradley [the WBC champion] in the summer."

Kid Khan may be King Khan now but he happily acknowledges making a few mistakes along the way. "Most kids do when they're growing up. But I am a better, wiser person for it. I want to prove I am a true champion, someone to look up to. That has to be my legacy."

Source: independent.co.uk

ACTION MAN AMIR KHAN -- Daily Star

By Nick Parkinson, Daily Star

AMIR KHAN has given himself four years to complete his mission of becoming an undisputed world champion in three different weight divisions.

The WBA light-­welterweight champion defends his world title for the fourth time against Northern Irish challenger Paul McCloskey at the MEN Arena in Manchester on April 16 and says it may be the last time British fans see him as a ten-stone fighter.

Khan, 24, wants to get past McCloskey to set up a showdown against rival world champion Tim Bradley in America on July 23.

Unbeaten Yank Bradley holds the WBC and WBO versions of the world title.

But, despite plans to face the American, Khan (right) insists he is not ­overlooking the threat posed by European king McCloskey, 31.

He said: “I want to clean up at light-welterweight and then move up to welterweight and light-middleweight.
“I’ve always said 28 would be a good age for me to retire.

Bolton born-and-bred Khan, who won a silver medal at the 2008 Olympics in Athens, has a clear target of what he wants to achieve. He told the Daily Star Sunday: “I want to unify divisions and fight the best.

I have got time to do that. I want to beat the likes of Victor Ortiz, clean up there and be a true champion like Manny Pacquiao is.

“That’s why ­McCloskey is such a huge fight for me because I am fully aware that, if I make any mistake, these big uni-fication fights like Bradley will not happen.

“So I want to get this fight out of the way before I start thinking about unifying the title.

“It would be stupid of me to sign for a fight before my next one.

“There might be talk of a fight against Bradley in the summer but there is no way I’m looking past ­McCloskey.”

Khan, who is trained by Freddie Roach in the USA, said: “This will be one of my last fights at light-welterweight in Britain.

“That’s why I want people to come and watch me on the night. I want to show fans how much I have improved.”

Bolton’s world champion will this week be sparring with Pacquiao.

And he added: “I spar with Manny this week.

“I’m training at altitude, 5,500 feet up and I’m pushing myself harder than ever.”

Source: dailystar.co.uk

Khan is growing into a real Manny but Judah admits Mayweather is close to calling time -- Daily Mail

By Jeff Powell, Daily Mail

As the virtues of Manny Pacquiao are being extolled by Bolton's finest, the future of Floyd Mayweather Jnr lurches between a rap and a hard place.

As our own Amir Khan gives thanks for falling under the influence of Filipino shanty-town courtesy rather than US ghetto culture, Zab Judah predicts retirement for his African-American soul-mate.

As one door finally opens - Haye versus Klitschko is signed, sealed and ready to be delivered - another stays closed. Maybe permanently.

According to Judah, a former world champion in the throes of resurrecting his own career, Mayweather has confided that he is finished with boxing. If so then the richest fight of all time will never happen.

Pacquiao versus Mayweather - for the indisputable title of greatest pound-for-pound fighter in the world - is already jeopardised by Floyd Junior's impending assault trials. Now Judah is indicating that Mayweather is hanging up the gloves.

When he reports his ring-mate as saying that he is going to 'chill out for at least a couple of years,' it carries a worrying ring of authenticity.

Mayweather faces two delayed court cases in Las Vegas next month and the latest hot tip from the gambling capital of the world is that if he fails to beat the rap he will serve two of the 34 years' maximum sentence.

Even if Pacquiao - now a Philippines congressman as well as an unprecedented eight-division world champion - was willing to wait that long, his patience with a rival who has insinuated that he is a drugs cheat might be in vain.

Mayweather - perhaps realising that the safest way of protecting the unbeaten record about which he obsesses is to quit the ring before fighting Pacquiao - is hinting at an afterlife in music and movies with his friend and business partner, the rapper 50 Cent.

Would that make Money Mayweather the full dollar? Not according to Khan.

At the Wild Card gym in Los Angeles, just before jetting off with master-trainer Freddie Roach to join the PacMan at their Philippines trainng camp, Britain's world light-welterweight champion said: 'Look at Manny, he is a nice guy, modest and generous with everyone, especially those who come from poverty like himself.

'Then you look at Floyd Mayweather, who is a great talent but has a bad personality. I don't want to be known as a fighter like that. I want to be loved the way people love Manny.'

To that end, like Pacquiao, Khan devotes much of his time to charity.

The pair of them are back together sparring for their upcoming fights. Khan defends his title against Ireland's unbeaten European champion Paul McCloskey in Manchester on April 16, with an eye to a world championship unification battle with Tim Bradley in July.

Pacquiao takes on Sugar Shane Mosley in Vegas on May 7.

Mayweather, meanwhile, is less profitably engaged. And even if he did feel inclined to come back after two years in a hard place with Pacquiao possibly retired by then, it might be discouraging for him to find a fully developed Amir Khan gloved up and awaiting his return.

Source: dailymail.co.uk

McCloskey defence in June at King’s Hall -- Belfast Telegraph

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