Michael Conlan's professional debut was the stuff of fantasy.
On St Patrick's Day 2017, Michael Conlan entered the professional ranks.
He walked out to rapturous applause in Madison Square Garden. As he made his way to the ring, Conor McGregor strutted beside him as part of his entourage. 'The Notorious' had won the UFC lightweight belt in the Big Apple just a few months earlier.
Conlan went out there and did his thing. He completely outclassed opponent Tim Ibarra, putting him away in the third round. The crowd went wild and he lapped up the atmosphere. He must have felt like he was on top of the world.
Then, a few hours later, an ignorant bouncer brought him crashing back down to Earth.
https://twitter.com/SportsJOEdotie/status/973717599795204097
"Sorry, mate"
Conlan recounted the tale of how he nearly didn't make his own afterparty on the
Mike Safo Podcast. Despite the fact that the venue had been booked specifically to celebrate his professional debut, the bouncer refused to let Conlan in.
"Oh yeah, I came up to the door after I won on St. Patrick's Day last year. I was in (Jack Demsey's bar) and I was trying to get into the VIP area on the next floor up. (The bouncer) was like, 'No, you can't go up, sorry,' and I was like, '... it's my afterparty.'"
At one point, a man came downstairs and showed the bouncer the t-shirt he was wearing which had Conlan's face printed on it. Unfortunately, the security still wasn't convinced. Conlan eventually got in, once someone else informed the bouncer the huge mistake he was making.
"He was like, 'No, no, no - you can't get up.' I was like, 'It's my afterparty.' He said, 'No. Sorry, there's no more room. It's packed up. You can't come up.'"
"It is what it is"
On a more serious note, as part of MTK Global, Conlan is unable to speak to Irish media. When questioned about whether he has found it frustrating to be unable to properly promote his upcoming fight to an Irish audience, he fave an interesting response.
"It is and it isn't (frustrating to not be able to talk to Irish media). At the minute I'm in a great situation where everybody wants to be a part of this journey and I'm very humbled, but when you can't speak to the media sometimes, it is what it is."
It certainly is what it is. There's no denying that fact.
