Blackpool boxer Alex McCloy feels he's on the cusp of challenging for titles

Blackpool boxer Alex McCloy is confident he’s just one or two wins away from challenging for titles.
Alex McCloy and his teamAlex McCloy and his team
Alex McCloy and his team
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The 24-year-old returns to the ring on Saturday, March 30 in Blackburn, where the welterweight will be looking to get back to winning ways after enduring a frustrating draw with Nathan Hardy in his last bout.

Hardy, a durable boxer who has lost 25 of his 38 bouts, is a fighter McCloy would have been expecting to beat.

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However, the undefeated McCloy, who has won 11 of his 12 fights, believes a win in his next clash would see him back on the right track.

He said: “I’ve got to get this fight out of the way, then win a rematch with Nathan Hardy, and after that, I should be knocking on the door.

“I could get a shot at the Central Area title at either welterweight or super-lightweight or maybe get an English title eliminator.”

The fight with Hardy back in October of last year is one McCloy desperately wants to make amends for. Hardy, a hard journeyman from Sheffield, put a dent in McCloy’s perfect pro record by holding him over six rounds in Colne.

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“I wasn’t in the best shape for that fight,” McCloy added. “I was on antibiotics for tonsillitis until just before the fight and when I got in there I felt flat. I just couldn’t get going. “I didn’t think I boxed particularly well but still, I thought I did enough to nick it.

“We wanted the rematch for the show in Blackburn, but he couldn’t make it. That’s definitely a fight I want again.”

McCloy believes that when he gets to championship level, he has the boxing brain to bring belts back to Blackpool.

He served a 46-bout amateur apprenticeship at Kingscote and then Fightworks ABCs after starting at 13, taking up the sport after being bullied at school.

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McCloy, who describes himself as a “thinker”, doesn’t have an opponent named for his next fight but that isn’t something he’s bothered about. I leave the game plan up to my coach (Jeff Thomas),” he said. “He tells me what to do and I follow that.

“It takes me a round or two to figure them out, but once I have, I can set traps for them and capitalise on their mistakes. I’m a counter puncher.”

The March 30 show in Blackburn also features Fleetwood middleweight Dan Catlin, who will be looking to make it three wins from three.

The 19-year-old claimed a points win against Geiboord Omier on his debut in August before knocking out Karim Khan two months later.