IRELAND’S MICHAEL CONLAN will seek to finish his first year as a professional boxer with no shortage of style when he returns to the scene of his debut in the paid ranks, The Theater at New York’s Madison Square Garden, for his fifth outing.
As first confirmed by The42, the 2012 Olympic bronze medalist and 2015 world amateur champion will feature on the undercard of 9 December’s feverishly anticipated showdown between two all-time amateur greats in Vasyl Lomachenko and Guillermo Rigondeaux, which will be the first ever professional fight between two double Olympic champions.
Conlan, whose four fights as a pro have all resulted in stoppage wins, including last month’s spectacular destruction of previously unbeaten part-timer Kenny Guzman, will face teak-tough Argentinian Luis Fernando Molina [7(2KOs)-3-1] in MSG’s 5,000-capacity ‘basement’, and will once more feature on ESPN in the States as well as BoxNation in Ireland and the UK.
29-year-old Molina, whose nickname is ‘El Tití’ (‘The Titan’, before you laugh), has never been stopped in 11 professional fights, with two of his seven wins coming by way of knockout.
Conlan is four years the Buenos Aires native’s junior, and will aim to finish the year with a perfect 5-0 record as well as a 100% knockout ratio.
As for the new year, a trip to Boston might beckon in the early spring, but Conlan recently confirmed to The42 that he will “definitely” fight in Belfast in either May or June of next year, with Top Rank Promotions CEO Bob Arum previously telling us that he intends for Conlan to headline his homecoming bill live on ‘The Worldwide Leader’, ESPN.
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