"I'm the Conor McGregor of boxing!"
That was Michael Conlan's claim last year after he became the first Irishman to win a world amateur boxing title.
If 2015 was kind, 2016 was cruel.
Conlan looked set for a hard-earned tilt at Olympic gold only to be robbed of a win by three questionable scorecards at Rio 2016. Right then and there, as Vladimir Nikitin's hand was raised, the Belfast boxer was done with it all.
He stuck up his middle fingers, berated the judges, let rip on RTE and declared he was walking away from a "corrupt" sporting body [the AIBA].
https://twitter.com/SportsJOEdotie/status/765654508760334336
Earlier this week, Conlan signed a professional contract with Top Rank. Bob Arum's company will give him his
pro debut at New York's Madison Square Garden on March 17, St Patrick's Day.
Conlan gave up four years of his life in order to win gold. That was denied to him and, at 24, he certainly has youth on his side. Still, he is keen to make up for lost time.
Conlan wants to make a name for himself as quick as possible. The amateur world championship pedigree helps, as did the passionate, heartfelt Rio 2016 outburst. He also told the
Las Vegas Review-Journal about another ace up his sleeve:
"Conor McGregor created a market here [in America] that I can tap into.
I’m good friends with Conor and I’m sure he’ll help me along the way. It’s great to have people like him support me."
In an interview with
Second Captains, last year, Conlan
spoke about how he had watched the likes of Sugar Ray Leonard, McGregor and Muhammad Ali with a keen interest.
On selling fights, he remarked:
"I think you've got to have a balance there where you are quiet and confident but you've got to sell yourself and you've got to be out there because the people who are going to want to see you are going to want to hear you so you have to voice your opinion and voice who you are."
Rio 2016 saw Conlan put it all out there and get an enormous amount of credit for it.
If he can stay true to himself and start talking scalps in the pro game, there is no reason why two Irishmen could not dominate the fight game in the United States.
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