Belfast is a city that cherishes its fighters.
Rinty Monaghan and John Caldwell have been immortalized in bronze statues alongside a sculpture of an unnamed fighter in the north of the city to commemorate the Shankill area’s many fighters, including Wayne McCullough and Davy Larmour.
Michael Conlan was expected to be the latest great boxer to fly the flag for his city, following in the tradition of recent world champions Carl Frampton and Ryan Burnett. However, Conlan has failed twice at clinching a world title in knockout defeats to Leigh Wood and Luis Alberto Lopez. His most recent bout saw him halted by Jordan Gill in the seventh round, last month in Belfast, leaving his professional boxing career in the balance.
“It will be down to him to say,” his brother and promoter, Jamie Conlan, said exclusively to ProBox TV. “He is good, he was here [Lewis Crocker press conference] today, he enjoyed it. Whatever way he goes, he has a lot of things going on. He has a beer, a larger that he owns. He has a lot of property, he has a lot of things to do. Although he is always keeping his eye on this, he is managing one or two more fighters now himself. He is taking his time to figure out what his next move is.”
Conlan Boxing linked up with English promoter Eddie Hearn to stage its last event with Conlan and Gill topping the card. Matchroom returns despite Conlan’s recent loss in December at the SSE Arena. Conlan Boxing will also continue its shows in the city.
“We have an end of March show that we will announce next week,” Conlan added. “It will be in the Ulster Hall in Belfast.”
