It wasn't Michael Conlan's fault that his second professional fight was the opposite of competitive.
Well, it was in the sense that he was just too skilled for Alfredo Chanez to cope with. However, it's hardly his fault that he got matched up against a human punching bag. The Belfast native fought, his opponent didn't even try to make it competitive.
Once Chanez's tactic of throwing wild, winging shots failed against the two-time Olympian, he tried the other, less admirable route.
He went into survival mode, ducking his head own, grabbing Conlan's waist, at one point even claimed that the Irishman landed a low blow and rolled around the canvas in an effort to get him disqualified. Even though he tried his best to stop that finish from coming, Conlan got it in the third round.
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Although it may not have been as clean as he might have liked, Conlan got the result the crowd inside Chicago's UIC Pavilion had been hoping to see. He even overcame Chanez's reluctance to allow the fight to go smoothly and put him away very early into the fight.
Yet still, as he told Boxnation after his hand was raised inside the ring, he was disappointed with his performance in the very one-sided affair. He gave himself an 'F' grade for it, which is a bit harsh in our books.
"It’s my first time in against a guy who was completely negative and trying to survive from the start and complaining about nothing at times but it’s a part of the pro game when you fight these type of guys. They are there to try and make you look bad and there to survive."
"I'm not very happy with my performance tonight, but it is what it is, and we got the victory. This is all part of the process. Next up is Brisbane, Australia. I hope they're ready for the 'Conlan Revolution.'"
Understandably, for his next fight that goes down on the Manny Pacquiao vs Jeff Horn undercard on July 2, he has one request for his yet-to-be-named opponent - that they come to fight.
"For my next fight, I want a better opponent, one that is going to challenge me and that is a real threat. I think with a better opponent I'm going to show what I'm made of and what I can do."
