There were two shows of note last night, at University Arena in Limerick, Ireland and one Merseyside at the Olympia in Liverpool, England.

At Limerick, local hero Andy Lee, 16-1 (13), returned home after a disastrous first loss, to Brian Vera in America last March, and regained his form by dramatically stopping Philadelphia boxer Willie "The Gladiator" Gibbs, 20-4 (16), at the end of the tenth and final round of their bout.

Lee put his height advantage and southpaw stance to good use, keeping the American at arm's length for most of the night and rattling off crisp combinations that generally found their mark.

The veteran Gibbs tried to make up what was clearly becoming a ever widening points gap by winging big shots but his faulty defense led to a near knockout loss in the middle rounds as he was battered pillar to post by the Irishman.

Gibbs survived the ordeal and simply couldn't get to Lee until the last round when he connected with over rights that had the Limerick lad in deep water. A referee telling off of Gibbs for use of the head gave Lee time to clear the cobwebs and he was soon hammering Gibbs to the canvas. More...

Andy Lee and Willie Gibbs will weigh in for this Saturday's Ladbrokes.com Fight Night today in Limerick prior to their final pre fight press conference.

Also on hand will be all the undercard boxers including the unbeaten Paul McCloskey and English Champion Nigel Wright, who square off in the chief support bout at the University Arena on Saturday night. More...

Paul McCloskey is hoping that an impressive win over English Champion Nigel Wright on the Ladbrokes Fight Night at the University Arena in Limerick, Ireland on July 19 will land him the title shot which he desperately craves.

The County Derry stylist is unbeaten in 16 pro fights and he says he’s ready for a title shot be that on the British, European or World stage.“I feel I’m ready for anyone right now,” said the Dungiven native. “I’m 28, so I don’t have any time to waste and I’d jump at the chance of fighting for a major title.” More...

Saturday, March 29. For the first time in his career Paul McCloskey was taking charge of a ship, one which belonged to a fleet of Brian Peters' promoted boxing events taking place in recent weeks.

McCloskey was calm in the build up. One assumed that with his first big occasion looming ahead of him, the Derry man would have displayed some nerves or apprehension. Instead, the week preceding the fight presented a Paul McCloskey who smiled politely at the fights mention and mingled easily with the press.

Opposing him, Cesar Bazan, a fighter who had been a world title holder at lightweight, fighting with passion in each bout and in the Mexican spirit, was not going to surrender, even at a time when his greatest achievements are memories now overshadowed by his losses to greater, more notable opposition.

Indeed, his opposition had been well documented in the fightʼs promotion. With over half a century of fights on his record, Bazan had never ran from or alluded any opponent. His record contains a couplet of losses to two truly great fighters in fellow Mexican Jose Luis Castillo and the Puerto-Rican Welterweight sensation, Miguel Cotto.

For Paul McCloskey, this elevation in the level of competition would serve as his certification. With a successful result, McCloskeyʼs professional apprenticeship would be complete and he could begin to advance into the fistic world.

The fight itself was a joy for any journalist. Every round was incredibly similar and if one were to pen a detailed report of the first round, the author could easily pass it off as a report of any of the nine rounds that followed. More...

Light welter prospect Paul McCloskey took and important step last night by claiming victory over former WBC Lightweight Champion Cesar Bazan at the Leisure Complex in Letterkenny.

Despite his great experience, Bazan is no longer the fighter he once was in the late 1990's and was made to order for the Ulster prospect, who rattled off many southpaw combinations on the way to sweeping the card of the referee Emile Tiedt 100-91 after ten rounds. More...

© Aidan Walsh

Paul McCloskey and Cesar Bazan both weighed in at the first time of asking ahead of tomorrow nights Hunky Dorys Fight Night at the Letterkenny Leisure Centre. The full weigh in details are below. More...