Published Saturday, 10 September 2011
Prescott, the Colombian who beat current WBA title-holder Amir Khan in 2008, appeared to be on his way to another victory at the Odyssey Arena when he had McCloskey on the canvas in the first round with a short left hook.
But the 32-year-old southpaw, bleeding from several cuts around the nose and mouth, battled back to outbox a tiring Prescott in the later rounds to claim a narrow victory by margins of 115-113 and 114-113 (twice) on the judges' scorecards.
The Dungiven man saw his world title dreams ended prematurely at the MEN Arena in Manchester back in April, after an accidental clash of heads with Khan opened a gash above his eyebrow, causing the match doctor to controversially intervene and call a halt to the contest.
Saturday's win means McCloskey could be closer to a rematch with Khan.
Earlier, Belfast man Carl Frampton clinched the Commonwealth super-bantamweight title with an impressive fourth-round stoppage of Mark Quon.
Frampton, who is managed by Barry McGuigan, said he will now target a European title shot.