MICHAEL CONLAN PROVED he still has the pull and his performance hinted that he retains the physical goods at 33 to finally land a world title as a professional.
Cheered on from ringside by greats of Irish sport such as former boxing world champs Andy Lee and Ryan Burnett, Irish football centurion James McClean, and ex-Irish rugby star Simon Zebo, Conlan (now 20-3, 10KOs) knocked out Jack Bateson (20-2-1, 6KOs) in the fourth round of their featherweight rankings bout and sent the 3Arena berserk.
MICHAEL CONLAN STOPS JACK BATESON IN DUBLIN!! 🇮🇪 💥
The two-time Olympian was punch-perfect against an opponent who, admittedly, has never boxed at world level, but Conlan displayed sufficient class to suggest he can get back there for one last crack at global honours.
Despite the Off Broadway feel to what was essentially a test-the-water fight to establish what Conlan has left in the tank, a crowd of around 4,500 produced a caustic atmosphere from the lower tier of Dublin’s 3Arena. One couldn’t help but lament that Conlan had never before boxed in his capital city as a professional, his management by the infamous MTK Global — from whom he disassociated a year prior to the US sanctions taken against its co-founder, Daniel Kinahan — ultimately putting paid to even bigger Conlan bouts at The Point.
That the mainstream stardom he once boasted in his home country has faded in recent years is equally the result of crushing stoppage defeats, two of them in world-title fights, but tonight was evidence enough that there may still be another special night on Conlan’s horizon to rival or surpass those in New York and his hometown in years past.
Whether or not he will be able to conjure a commensurately special performance is another matter, but this was certainly a step in the right direction against a British-title-level opponent in Bateson.
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James McClean, Simon Zebo and Michael Conlan during Conlan's ring-walk. Laszlo Geczo / INPHO
Laszlo Geczo / INPHO / INPHO
Roared onto stage to the tune of ‘Grace’ — a staple of Conlan fights — and flanked by the aforementioned McClean and Zebo, Conlan then walked to the ring to ‘Return of the Mack’ by Mark Morrison.
He echoed that sentiment during a post-fight interview in which he claimed with certainty, “I’m back.”
‘Ole Ole’ and ‘The Fields of Athenry’ were belted from the 3Arena stand as the first bell sounded, with Conlan boxing out of the southpaw stance and immediately flummoxing Bateson with his range and movement.
The Belfast man turned up the heat on a couple of occasions, rousing the crowd with a thudding right hand at the end of a three-punch combination which went unanswered.
The second was a quieter affair, with Conlan targeting and mostly missing Bateson’s body, while the Yorkshireman again offered virtually nothing in return as he tried to run the calculations as to how he could find the correct angle from which to attack.
Bateson did finally land a tidy left hand upstairs during an exchange early in the third, but Conlan then brought the crowd to its feet once more as he dropped his opponent with a clipping left hook to the side of the head. Bateson may have also lost his footing simultaneously, but it was a legitimate knockdown by the rulebook and was counted as such.
Conlan, the former amateur world champion and Olympic bronze medallist, was in cruise control, his superior skills making Bateson look cruder than he is.
The visitor barely landed a shot in anger before his night was ended violently.
Michael Conlan landing a right hand on Jack Bateson. Laszlo Geczo / INPHO
Laszlo Geczo / INPHO / INPHO
The finish came in the blink of an eye towards the end of the fourth: Conlan, who had only seconds earlier switched to an orthodox stance, landed a lightning-bolt of a right hand on the Englishman, sending Bateson sprawling to the canvas about halfway across the ring.
Bateson, rocked to his core, somehow rose at the count of seven or eight, but his legs were in Funky Town, one of them possibly injured from the fall.
Conlan was hoisted on shoulders. Beer rained down on the ring. The 3Arena shook.
Then came the Wolf Tones’ ‘Celtic Symphony’, another Conlan staple.
‘Here we go again. We’re on the road again.’
And maybe, just maybe, Michael Conlan isn’t quite finished yet.
Earlier on this Wasserman Boxing card, Galway welterweight Kieran Molloy produced the standout performance of the support acts, destroying Ghanaian journeyman Nourdeen Toure to improve his record to 12-0 (8KOs).
Molloy dropped Toure on three occasions before referee David John Irving prevented the African from taking further punishment.
There were also points victories for Kerry’s Kevin Cronin, Dublin’s Glenn Byrne, and Meath’s Cain Lewis, while Wexford’s Dean Walsh, Offaly’s Paul Loonam and Limerick debutant Kian Hedderman are yet to box at the time of writing.
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Michael Conlan reignites career with spectacular knockout of Jack Bateson
MICHAEL CONLAN PROVED he still has the pull and his performance hinted that he retains the physical goods at 33 to finally land a world title as a professional.
Cheered on from ringside by greats of Irish sport such as former boxing world champs Andy Lee and Ryan Burnett, Irish football centurion James McClean, and ex-Irish rugby star Simon Zebo, Conlan (now 20-3, 10KOs) knocked out Jack Bateson (20-2-1, 6KOs) in the fourth round of their featherweight rankings bout and sent the 3Arena berserk.
The two-time Olympian was punch-perfect against an opponent who, admittedly, has never boxed at world level, but Conlan displayed sufficient class to suggest he can get back there for one last crack at global honours.
Despite the Off Broadway feel to what was essentially a test-the-water fight to establish what Conlan has left in the tank, a crowd of around 4,500 produced a caustic atmosphere from the lower tier of Dublin’s 3Arena. One couldn’t help but lament that Conlan had never before boxed in his capital city as a professional, his management by the infamous MTK Global — from whom he disassociated a year prior to the US sanctions taken against its co-founder, Daniel Kinahan — ultimately putting paid to even bigger Conlan bouts at The Point.
That the mainstream stardom he once boasted in his home country has faded in recent years is equally the result of crushing stoppage defeats, two of them in world-title fights, but tonight was evidence enough that there may still be another special night on Conlan’s horizon to rival or surpass those in New York and his hometown in years past.
Whether or not he will be able to conjure a commensurately special performance is another matter, but this was certainly a step in the right direction against a British-title-level opponent in Bateson.
Roared onto stage to the tune of ‘Grace’ — a staple of Conlan fights — and flanked by the aforementioned McClean and Zebo, Conlan then walked to the ring to ‘Return of the Mack’ by Mark Morrison.
He echoed that sentiment during a post-fight interview in which he claimed with certainty, “I’m back.”
‘Ole Ole’ and ‘The Fields of Athenry’ were belted from the 3Arena stand as the first bell sounded, with Conlan boxing out of the southpaw stance and immediately flummoxing Bateson with his range and movement.
The Belfast man turned up the heat on a couple of occasions, rousing the crowd with a thudding right hand at the end of a three-punch combination which went unanswered.
The second was a quieter affair, with Conlan targeting and mostly missing Bateson’s body, while the Yorkshireman again offered virtually nothing in return as he tried to run the calculations as to how he could find the correct angle from which to attack.
Bateson did finally land a tidy left hand upstairs during an exchange early in the third, but Conlan then brought the crowd to its feet once more as he dropped his opponent with a clipping left hook to the side of the head. Bateson may have also lost his footing simultaneously, but it was a legitimate knockdown by the rulebook and was counted as such.
Conlan, the former amateur world champion and Olympic bronze medallist, was in cruise control, his superior skills making Bateson look cruder than he is.
The visitor barely landed a shot in anger before his night was ended violently.
The finish came in the blink of an eye towards the end of the fourth: Conlan, who had only seconds earlier switched to an orthodox stance, landed a lightning-bolt of a right hand on the Englishman, sending Bateson sprawling to the canvas about halfway across the ring.
Bateson, rocked to his core, somehow rose at the count of seven or eight, but his legs were in Funky Town, one of them possibly injured from the fall.
Conlan was hoisted on shoulders. Beer rained down on the ring. The 3Arena shook.
Then came the Wolf Tones’ ‘Celtic Symphony’, another Conlan staple.
‘Here we go again. We’re on the road again.’
And maybe, just maybe, Michael Conlan isn’t quite finished yet.
Earlier on this Wasserman Boxing card, Galway welterweight Kieran Molloy produced the standout performance of the support acts, destroying Ghanaian journeyman Nourdeen Toure to improve his record to 12-0 (8KOs).
Molloy dropped Toure on three occasions before referee David John Irving prevented the African from taking further punishment.
There were also points victories for Kerry’s Kevin Cronin, Dublin’s Glenn Byrne, and Meath’s Cain Lewis, while Wexford’s Dean Walsh, Offaly’s Paul Loonam and Limerick debutant Kian Hedderman are yet to box at the time of writing.
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