In a WBA junior welterweight eliminator bout, Ireland’s Paul McCloskey (23-1, 12 KOs) took a close, but disputed unanimous decision victory over Colombia’s Breidis Prescott (24-3, 19 KOs) by scores of 114-113, 115-113, and 114-113 in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Prescott took an early lead in the bout, beginning with a questionable knockdown scored in the first that was more inside forearm hook than actual punch. The Colombian fought intelligently for the first six rounds, landing some big shots while boxing solidly from the outside, keeping his opponent at the end of his long punches.
McCloskey started putting on the pressure in the seventh, working his way into the right range and nearly sweeping the second half of the fight and earning a second shot shot at Amir Khan’s world title after a technical decision loss to Khan in April.
Despite the unanimous decision from the judges, The Boxing Tribune scored the bout 115-112 in favor of Prescott.
