Paul McCloskey is confident that there will be a double celebration for Derry at the Hunky Dorys Fight Night at the National Stadium, Dublin on October 20th. McCloskey will share the spotlight with fellow county man and friend John Duddy as both look to extend their impressive unbeaten records..
Duddy tops the bill against former world title challenger Noe Tulio Gonzalez Alcoba from Uruguay while McCloskey also looks set for a stiff test of his championship credentials.
The classy Dungiven southpaw has been matched with Cristian “La Cobra” Frias in a 10 round light welterweight clash.
Frias from the Dominican Republic travels to Dublin with an impressive record of 20 wins, 2 losses and 2 draws. Both of those defeats were via the judges scorecards and although the two have never met in the ring before McCloskey remembers Frias from their days travelling the world as amateurs.
“He was a very decent amateur and he seems to be doing quite well in the pros so he’s a good opponent for me,” said McCloskey.
Joining McCloskey on the card will be his stable mate and fellow undefeated professional Stephen Haughian in his first outing at welterweight. The Lurgan man has been matched with former Andy Lee opponent Thomas Hengstberger over 8 rounds as he looks to continue his impressive rise through the professional ranks.
Meanwhile Mayo’s Michael “The Storm” Sweeney will make his professional debut on the card. The big punching fan favourite will feature in a 4 round cruiserweight contest.
Polish prospect Lukasz Wawrzyczek also features in an 8 round bout. The undefeated middleweight has already enjoyed two successful visits to Dublin this year and will be looking to make it a hat trick of wins on October 20th.
Another exciting foreign import on the card is Ukrainian light heavyweight puncher Sergey Kravchenko. Based out of New York the undefeated Kravchenko regularly swaps leather with John Duddy in fiery sparring sessions.
The remainder of the 9 fight bill will be confirmed early next week including news of a familiar foe for Matthew Macklin and a surprise addition to bill.
Tickets for the “Celtic Tigers” Hunky Dorys Fight Night at the National Stadium, Dublin on October 20th are priced from €50 and are available from Ticketmaster.ie and all usual outlets.