Dudey’ will win world title: Breen

But for all the progress Amir Khan’s made since tasting oblivion against Breidis Prescott two-and-half-years ago it won’t be enough to stop Paul McCloskey wresting the WBA title from him next month.

Thus spake John Breen - the veteran Belfast boxing trainer - who has absolute confidence in the Dungiven man’s ability to stage a memorable upset at the Manchester Evening News (MEN) arena next month.

Breen told the Sentinel how McCloskey has never been in better shape and how he is totally focused on the task in hand.

Preparations have been proceeding smoothly and despite an unsuccessful attempt to lure New York fighter and Khan’s last-opponent-but-one, Paul Malignaggi, to Belfast for McCloskey’s pre-clash camp, the Dungiven boxer has managed to secure the services of battle-hardened Georgian and Venezuelan scrappers for sparring as he gears up for the biggest fight of his life to date.

“He started sparring this week with a guy from Georgia,” Breen told the paper. “He’s sparred every day and we’re getting a Venezuelan over next week. We tried to get Malignaggi to come over but that didn’t happen.”

Breen has schooled five former world champions including Dave “Boy” McAuley, Fabrice Benichou, Paul Hodkinson, Crisanto Espana, and Victor Cordoba and is confident number six is on the way in a month’s time.

“I’m very excited about the fight. Paul will be WBA world champion,” he said. “He’s been training very, very hard for four or five weeks.”

Not everyone shares Breen’s belief. But few if any know McCloskey’s strengths and weaknesses as well.

The Belfast-man has helped the undefeated southpaw to facile victory over the majority of his professional opposition over the past five years.

This has included impressive landmarks along the way. In early 2008 “Dudey” literally bamboozled accomplished veteran Manuel Garnica and shortly afterwards repeated the feat against Cesar Bazán who had gone 11 rounds with Miguel Cotto during his long career.

He also made light work of Colin Lynes and Daniel Rasilla to pick up the British and European light-welterweight titles respectively.

It was arguably only in bouts against English champ Nigel Wright and former Euro champ Giuseppi Lauri that McCloskey - abandoning his signature counter-punching style and getting involved in a scrap - has looked anything other than slick.

Breen knows this and says he was puzzled himself when McCloskey decided to go toe-to-toe with the credible Italian Lauri.

“I was giving off to him after each round and he said Lauri caught him with his head and he wanted to make him suffer,” explained Breen. “I told him if you wanted him to suffer make him look stupid.” McCloskey subsequently apologised to his coach after flooring Lauri with a right in the 11th round.

Notwithstanding Breen’s respected opinion the majority of bookies, pundits, experts and the boxing cognoscenti in general have written McCloskey off as a viable contender.

The conventional wisdom deems Khan’s winning streak of 6 (KO 3) 0 since the ignominy of his Prescott defeat sufficient to justify the best pound-for-pound potential claims. But is this reasonable?

Who has ‘King Khan’ fought since he was whisked off the canvas at the MEN and into the bosom of Freddie Roach’s Wild Card Gym?

Following his stunning defeat to Prescott Khan won two lightweight contests. The first was against Irish journeyman Oisín Fagan who was knocked out by the Boltonian in the second round.

The second was against past-it Mexican legend Marco Antonia Barrera who lasted five rounds against him throughout most of which he could hardly see due to the blood pouring from a huge gash on his forehead opened by an accidental clash of heads in the first round. The fight was stopped in the fifth round and Khan stuttered to a technical decision.

After this Khan moved up to light-welterweight and defeated Ukrainian Andriy Kotelnik to take the WBA title in 2009. Kotelnik had beaten Marcos Maidana just before this and, incidentally, was previously defeated himself by Souleymane M’Baye in 2007. M’Baye subsequently shirked an EBU light welterweight bout with McCloskey on account of a bicep injury.

Next up for Khan was the defence of his newly-acquired WBA belt against another Ukrainian Dmitriy Salita who has fought just twice since his defeat to the Englishman - his last contest a win against James Wayka - who has lost 10 of his last 16 bouts.

Khan then easily beat New Yorker Paul Malignaggi who has admittedly faced - albeit unsuccessfully - high calibre fighters such as Miguel Cotto and Ricky Hatton.

And last December Khan endured a gruelling battle against Marcos Maidana, which tested his durability but which many also believe could have ended rather differently had the Argentinian capitalised on a serious wobble by Khan in the tenth round.

Breen wouldn’t be drawn on the hype generated by the Khan propaganda machine other than to say: “I’m not worried about what Khan does.”

Commenting specifically on the Maidana battle before Christmas he declared: “If Paul fought Maidana he would beat him with ease.”

Indeed when a miserable purse offer and ‘King Khan’s’ insistence on controlling Paul McCloskey’s next two fights in the event of a second career defeat at the hands of the Dungiven man nearly scuppered a world title clash between the pair Breen said McCloskey’s camp was considering a contest with Maidana as a barometer of his ability vis-a-vis the reigning WBA champ.

As for the sum total of Khan’s opponents since he was knocked out by Prescott Breen was respectful but not overly impressed.

“They are not bad fighters but they are not world title fighters,” he said

Those wishing to turn the equation on its head could also question the calibre of McCloskey’s recent opponents but that’s countered by the fact that he has fought the best Europe has had to offer and that he has made it look easy.

Breen hopes Khan really is underestimating his charge. “If he is he’ll be in for a shock,” he said.