Ulster and Ireland round up by Steve Wellings Feb 5th 2008

Andy Lee made a successful home debut in front of a fervent Limerick crowd on Saturday 2nd February as he became the first man to stop Argentinean tough guy Alejandro Gustavo Falliga in the fifth round of a scheduled ten. It was only the second time Falliga had ventured outside of his native South America and Lee made sure he knew he was the away man, running out of the blocks with serious intent from the opening bell. Desperate for a stoppage on his own patch the 23-year-old left himself open and fell short at times as he threw hooks from both hands, shipping a few meaty return rights for good measure. By the fifth his strategy was paying off and Falliga was felled twice before referee David Irving called a halt at 1:49 after Falliga had slumped to the canvas for a third time, demoralised and clearly beaten. A meeting with American Brian Vera could be next as Emmanuel Steward claims his charge can win a world title this year. Pound-for-pounder Ronald “Winky” Wright's name is surprisingly being mentioned. On the undercard Paul McCloskey gets better and better as he stamped out a one-sided but competitive ten round points win over Mexican Manuel Garnica. Laid back McCloskey stalked from range, landing smooth left hands and his trademark right hooks and uppercuts off the southpaw jab to keep the veteran at bay. Hopefully McCloskey has that vital second gear when needed as he moves towards world level. Referee David Irving scored 98-93 even though McCloskey appeared to win every round but that will not worry the Dungiven portsider. One admirer he has is former promoter Barney Eastwood who has been impressed with McCloskey's rise: “"He still has a good bit to learn but from what I've seen of him he can go a long way and after a couple of good wins I don't see why he can't box for the European title." McCloskey will headline his next show in Letterkenny on March 22nd with promoter Brian Peters promising a former world champion in the opposite corner. Further undercard action saw busy Cuban Mike Perez halt Hungarian loser Sandor Balogh in the first round to add to his debut first round win last weekend. Jason McKay and Michael Sweeney both outpointed stern Eastern European opposition with Ciaran Healy the only home fighter to come unstuck as he conceded a six round decision to lowly Pavel Lotah. Lisburn light-heavyweight Brian Magee looks to put the disappointment of an unsuccessful attempt at the British crown behind him as he battles Tyrone Wright on 7th March in Nottingham. Magee drew over twelve rounds with Tony Oakey in Dublin last year but will continue at his new weight against local boy Wright -who has seven wins from eight fights- on the undercard of Kiko Martinez V Rendall Munroe. Pat Magee handles both his namesake Brian and headliner Martinez which explains the timing of this opportunity to get back to winning ways for the 32-year-old southpaw. Martin Lindsay's mouth watering clash with Paul Appleby set for 29th February appears to be postponed after Lindsay underwent medical surgery on a dental problem. The fight had been scheduled as an eliminator for the British featherweight title but will likely be pencilled in at a later date.

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