Trainer Manny Robles and new Top Rank Promotions signee Mick Conlan. Photo credit: Mikey Williams/Top Rank Promotions
There is a press conference scheduled today at Madison Square Garden in New York to announce the professional debut of highly-touted Irishman Michael “Mick” Conlan, who will face Tim Ibarra at the Theater of MSG on March 17 (which, not-so-coincidentally, is St. Patrick’s Day). But the work is already being put in by the two-time Olympian.
This Monday morning, while many were taking time off on Martin Luther King Day, Conlan was putting his nose to the grindstone at the Jackrabbit Boxing Academy in Long Beach, California, with trainer Manuel Robles and his new stablemates WBO featherweight titlist Oscar Valdez and WBO junior featherweight titleholder Jessie Magdaleno. It was Conlan’s first day sparring as he geared up for his fight and he went five hard rounds with Emilio Sanchez.
It’s clear, judging by this session, that Conlan brings a ready-made, fan-friendly pro style.
“I think so,” said Conlan after his day’s training had concluded. “I’m very adaptable. I can adapt to move forward. I can adapt to go back. Anything you want, I can do. There’s some things I obviously need to work on, which is starting to get into the professional-style pace. Today, I sparred my first time in the ring since the Olympic Games and I felt the pace was quite different.”
Photo credit: Mikey Williams/Top Rank Promotions
Conlan wasn’t shy in letting the leather fly and trading with Sanchez (whose undefeated prospect signed with Golden Boy Promotions, who also works with Robles). He admitted that, after a quick start, the tempo of the back-and-forthing got to him but he states, “I think my stamina is built for the pros and I think, with Manny helping me with all my skills, I think we’ll go all the way to the top.”
Afterward, Conlan did some floorwork with his trainer before concentrating on the double-end bag. It was a full day’s work for this young man, a two-time Olympian, who captured the bronze in 2012 in London and then ended his amateur career last summer in Rio by giving a double-barrel one-finger salute to AIBA after his controversial quarterfinal loss to Russian Vladimir Nikitin. Perhaps Conlan was voicing the frustration of many of his amateur colleagues with a system strife with alleged corruption.
mick conlan getting to work.. https://t.co/8vdS2lbgc8
— Steve Kim (@steveucnlive) January 16, 2017
“I think a lot of it was impulse but, at the same time, it’s frustration. My whole career, I felt a lot of my losses, when I was boxing internationally, were losses that I maybe shouldn’t have had,” he explained. “At one stage before, I thought I was going to do it when I thought I wasn’t going to qualify for the Olympics the first time and I was going to give the finger but I never done it. I didn’t know if I won or not. I didn’t know if I was qualified or not. I was qualified but for some reason, (so) I didn’t do it. I just saluted the crowd; it was in Venezuela in the World Series of Boxing.”
Conlan recalled, “I fought in Kazakhstan before and one judge gave me every single round of the five and the two other judges, they split and I didn’t understand how they were going to score a fight that way. I was fighting a Kazakhstan fighter in Kazakhstan and I felt there was a bit of corruption there. It opened up my eyes and I was already fed up with AIBA.”
So is the amateur game actually more corrupt than professional boxing?
“I think amateur boxing’s a lot more corrupt. There’s a lot more corruption going on in amateur fights. It’s points scored and they say it’s subjective. There’s fights every single day. It’s not like it’s a single fight in a blue moon that’s happening. It doesn’t happen every single night (in) professional boxing but this happens in nearly every single competition. I think amateur boxing is as bad as FIFA,” opined Conlan.
With the amateurs in his rearview mirror, Conlan and his manager, former middleweight contender Matthew Macklin, embarked on getting a promotional deal. It was a bit of a surprise that American-based Top Rank Promotions acquired his services. “Once we got the contact, after the Olympics and all that, I was thinking, I’m either going with Frank Warren or Eddie Hearn (of Matchroom Boxing) or someone in the U.K. But. once we got the contact from America, my manager was telling me that. if I didn’t take up Top Rank’s offer. I’d probably regret it for the rest of my life,” said the 25-year-old native of Belfast.
It’s rare that a European will sign immediately with a promotional outfit in the States but Macklin sold his client on Top Rank’s history of developing stars and nurturing careers.
“I value (Macklin’s) opinion, so I listened to what he said and I listened to what Top Rank brought to the table and it was the best thing,” said Conlan, who then decided on working with Robles, who has one of the deepest and most talented rosters in boxing. “I always knew who Manny was and I watched his videos coaching and I spoke to Jason Quigley and he spoke really well of him and I was really happy to come here and train with him.”
What attracted Top Rank to Conlan was very simple, “It’s personality. It’s ability, the fact that he resonates with people. He’s going to be a major, major international star,” said Bob Arum, whose company has taken a more worldwide approach to signing fighters recently. The plan is to develop Conlan both in America and Europe.
“We’re an international company,” Arum emphatically pointed out.” We have more experience doing international fights than anybody. Obviously, when we go to England, we’d want to go with a local promoter to make it easy with the British Boxing Board but, if we went to Ireland, we’d do it ourselves, and in France and Germany.”
And it only made perfect sense for Conlan’s pro debut to take place on St. Paddy’s Day. “Well, he is Irish; isn’t he?” asked Arum, who is somewhat deterred by the insurance costs now associated with doing cards in the Big Apple. “We’re dealing with it by paying it.”
The show, which will take place a night before IBF/WBA/WBC middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin faces Danny Jacobs in the big room of the Garden, is expected to sell out. Carl Moretti, Top Rank’s Vice President of Boxing Operations, tells UCNLive.com, “(Conlan’s) pre-sale that he did, personally with his fans, was pretty astounding for a kid making his debut and these are mostly people from Ireland who are coming over. So we’re talking about several, several hundred tickets he sold just for people and friends from Ireland and stuff like that.”
Photo credit: Mikey Williams/Top Rank Promotions
“I’m hugely excited. I’m hugely grateful for the opportunity,” said Conlan. “I want to thank my management and my promotional team, Top Rank, for making it happen. Without them, it probably wouldn’t have happened. If I would’ve signed with anybody else, this wouldn’t have been an opportunity. It couldn’t have arose, so I know I have the weight of (my) nation on my shoulders and I’m very proud of that. I’m very proud to have my debut on St. Paddy’s Day and headlining in Madison Square Garden and going all the way to the top with a country behind me.”
The journey is just beginning for this fighting Irishman and, with that, he has made the decision to live in Marina Del Rey in Southern California, as he embarks on his professional run. “I’ve got to make some commitments and I could’ve converted my commercial equities in Europe and have, maybe, a nice, easy career but I want to do it the right way and I want to be the best,” said Conlan, with conviction. “So, I feel, coming to L.A. and moving my family out and going full-time is what I need to do.”
So far, he’s enjoying his time out here with his fiancee and daugther.
“It’s been great. Y’ know, I’m happy to be here. I’ve got a comfort zone in Europe and Ireland. I’ve come to America – the biggest boxing country in the world – and I’m ready to take on the professional boxing game.”
PAC UPDATE
Arum says all the Is will be dotted and Ts crossed in the next 10 days or so, regarding Manny Pacquiao’s next fight in the spring. Last week, the veteran promoter told Lance Pugmire of the L.A. Times that the “Pac-Man” could fight up to four times in 2017.
Really?
Doesn’t he have that little Senate thing to take care of in the Philippines?
“I think so,” said Arum, “because there is a recess, apparently in July, which would work and, if he fights frequently, he wouldn’t have to spend that much (time) on a particular fight in a training camp, training. He’d be in boxing shape.”
As for the reports that Eddie Hearn has talked to him about a possible Pacquiao-Kell Brook match-up, Arum confirmed, “I have had discussions with Eddie; yes, that’s true.”
TNR
Here’s this week’s edition of “The Next Round” with Gabe Montoya and Yours Truly.
IRISH FLURRIES
David Lemieux-Curtis Stevens has been finalized for March 11 on HBO from Verona, New York…Sign me up for some of Luis Ortiz vs. Jarrell Miller…I’m being told that both Showtime and HBO have shown interest in this one…Love the idea of Pacquiao-“Special K”…What now with Amir Khan? Good grief…Why not have Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. train his son for the Saul “Canelo” Alvarez fight?…“The Young Pope” on HBO gets the Kim blessing after two episodes…Going to Hinckley, Minnesota this week for the Rob Brant show at the Grand Casino and I think I’m catching a break, where there is a heat wave that will take the temps into the 30s – and maybe even 40s…I can be reached at k9kim@yahoo.com and I tweet (a lot) at twitter.com/steveucnlive. I also share photos of stuff at instagram.com/steveucnlive and can also be found at tsu.co/steveucnlive.
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