Is McCloskey Headed For Juan Manuel Marquez Clash?

Paul McCloskey’s May 5 clash with DeMarcus Corley live on Sky Sports has taken a new twist after he was named as a possible opponent for Juan Manuel Marquez’s July 14 fight in Texas.

The WBO interim light welterweight champion takes over Cowboys Stadium that night and the four-weight king has been linked with a fight with Dudey after his promoter suggested his preference for a southpaw opponent.

McCloskey faces the former WBO champ ‘Chop Chop’ Corley on May 5 at the King’s Hall in Belfast in a huge night for boxing for the city, with the all-Irish middleweight Betfair Prizefighter, Martin Lindsay and Jamie Conlan all in action, and now McCloskey’s promoter Eddie Hearn says the show has taken on even greater significance with the former unbeaten European champion in the running for a shot at the pound-for-pound Mexican great.

“Paul’s name has been mentioned by JMM’s team in the last week and I reached out to Top Rank yesterday to let them know that we’d love the fight,” said Hearn. “I think we are in with a decent chance but a convincing win against Corley in front of a packed King’s Hall crowd would strengthen our case for a July clash with Marquez.”

McCloskey added: “It’s an honour to be linked with a showdown with Juan Manuel and it’s a dream fight for me. May 5 has always been a pivotal night for me as I aim to get back into World title contention, and this news has made a huge occasion even bigger.”

Tickets priced at £30 (unreserved), £40 (reserved balcony or unreserved floor), £60 (outer-ringside) and £100 (ringside) are available from Ticketmaster on 0844 277 4455 – UK/Northern Ireland customers, 0818 719 300 – Republic of Ireland customers and at www.ticketmaster.ie VIP packages priced £150 are available from Matchroom Sport on 01277 359900 and at www.matchroomboxing.com

Paul McCloskey’s fans can also buy their tickets at the prices above from Eurospar Dungiven and any EuroXchange outlet.