By Mark Vester
Euripean junior welterweight champion Paul McCloskey (22-0, 12KOs) is confident about his ability to snatch the WBA title away from Amir Khan (24-1, 17KOs) on April 16 at the MEN Arena in Manchester, England. Most of the critics expect an easy defense for Khan, but McCloskey is convinced that he can prove the doubters wrong. Most of Khan's fans were anticipating a much bigger American name for Khan's return to the UK. McCloskey believes that he was the best possible opponent for Khan's homecoming.
"I'm not here by luck, I'm here by right," he told Sky Sports News. "I've earned my right, I've done it the traditional way. I've done the British and European route and earned my right to be here, so I'm looking forward to it. I know other fighters who had good records but just never got the opportunity. The opportunity is here for me now and I need to grab it with both hands. Amir's coming back to England, he's a world champion, I'm a European champion - it's the most sensible fight over here. I'm confident and in boxing one punch can end a fight."
McCloskey is hoping the year starts off with a bang. More than anything, he was pushing to fight for a major world title. Now he gets the big chance to achieve that dream.
"Starting off I would have fought for a world title for nothing - that's how much I want to be a world champion," he said. "Starting off every fighter dreams of being the best and this is one of the best belts out there, the WBA. It's one of the four recognised world champions and Amir holds it - and I want it myself."
