THE CONLAN BROTHERS will be celebrating Olympic gold and a world-title shot by September, according to elder brother Jamie after the 29-year-old’s decision to put pen to paper on a promotional agreement with Frank Warren.
Jamie, older brother of world amateur champion Michael, has signed with the English Hall of Fame promoter as he looks to book a showdown with the Warren-promoted Paul Butler.
Former IBF world bantamweight champion Butler looks likely to book a world-title fight at his natural super-flyweight against Japanese champion Napya Inoue in the summer, and undefeated Belfast native Conlan hopes to take on the winner of that bout in the autumn.
Younger brother Michael is also aiming for gold at his second Olympic Games in Rio in August and Jamie believes the Conlan household off the Falls Road will be celebrating a successful 2016 by the year’s end.
“After Rio, all being good, and if Butler wins his fight, we can get it on,” said the undefeated Conlan.
“That (fight) was one of the main reasons why I went with Frank Warren.
We had a good deal with Warren and then when you add in the Butler fight, it makes it so much easier to make. There’s the possibility of bringing big-time boxing to Belfast as well. It was one of the main points, a world-title fight with Paul Butler is what I want.
The 29-year-old Conlan (15-0), who recorded back-to-back wins in Dublin last year, expects to return to the ring in London next month with another fight likely to be lined up for July.
While the former Ulster senior amateur champion is now promoted by Warren, he continues to be trained and managed by Macklin’s Gym Marbella (MGM), who were forced to cancel a scheduled show at Dublin’s National Stadium last February due to a fatal shooting at the pre-fight weigh-in.
Despite the shock that surrounded that incident, Conlan maintains that it will be business as usual for him once he gets back to his training base in Marbella.
“It’s back to normal. My trainer, Danny Vaughan, was training Derry Matthews (for his world-title fight against Terry Flanagan) so I did some training in Liverpool,” explained Conlan.
“Then I came back home (to Belfast) and trained with Mick and my father for two days and I’m back out to Spain on Wednesday.
It (MGM) has got everything I need, there’s no reason I wouldn’t want to be there. As I said on numerous occasions, it’s just like the High Performance for me with the best facilities and best nutritionists. It’s got everything I need so there’s no reason why I wouldn’t be there, it’s making me a better boxer and that’s what I need to do.
“I’m looking forward to getting back because when I’m home I want to relax more. Home is for relaxing and eating … when I get away, it’s more work and getting the head down,” added Conlan.
“My office might look a bit nicer than a normal one but you get hit in the head more!”
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