Paul McCloskey has set his sights on Amir Khan after defending his European light-welterweight title against Barry Morrison.
Irishman calls out WBA beltholder after retaining European title
Paul McCloskey has set his sights on Amir Khan after defending his European light-welterweight title for the second time against Barry Morrison on Saturday night.
The 31-year-old Irishman stopped his opponent in seven rounds in the Hunky Dory's Fight Night event in Letterkenny and immediately called out the WBA beltholder.
McCloskey was comfortably in control during the early rounds, working away at his Scottish opponent without doing huge amounts of damage.
However, Morrison sank to one knee after being caught flush on the temple with a right hand in the fifth and was on the canvas once more in the seventh - although McCloskey's shot was not ruled a punch.
The fight was to last only around another minute. McCloskey pinned his opponent back on the ropes and landed a combination of punches. Although he failed to land a winning blow, Morrison went to ground again and referee Mark Green stopped the fight.
McCloskey told
RTE afterwards: "I was so pleased with the performance, I started really sharp.
"He's a hard, hard man and that's a brilliant result for me, it pushes me up the ladder.
"The crowd were amazing, and that really pushes you on. It was good, I was happy."
Asked about the future, he replied: "What's the next move after becoming European champion? It's obviously the world.
"Amir Khan is one of the big names out there - he's English, I'm Irish, it'd be a great fight for this part of the world. Let's get it on."
Coach John Breen added: "He showed real class tonight. Barry Morrison's not a bad fighter and Paul made him look second-rate tonight."
