After two Olympic Games and 22 pro fights, Michael Conlan has seen almost all of what boxing has to offer.
He still covets a world title, and that is why the 33-year-old from Ireland is still in the sport.
Huge things were predicted when he turned over, but losses to Leigh Wood and Luis Lopez prevented him from hitting the heights, and defeat to Jordan Gill saw him take a year out from the sport.
He returned in April to win an eight-rounder, and his comeback continues in Dublin on September 5 against England’s Jack Bateson.
Conlan is still linked to big fights and big names. Commercially, he’s a big draw, and Dublin will be rocking next week for his first pro fight at 3Arena.
And Conlan is aware of the opportunities he has had, in part thanks to his Olympic background. Not everyone has that same path, and it is more hazardous for the pros who do not have that pedigree.
“Listen, some of boxing’s best talents probably go unseen forever because they never get the opportunities,” said Conlan.
“Everything is about opportunity. And, you know, if you can market yourself and get yourself in the right position, you’ll get your opportunities. But if you’re more of a reclusive kind of guy who doesn’t say much, doesn’t put himself out there, isn’t the shit-talker or nothing like that, sometimes it’s harder to get the opportunities. A lot of boxing nowadays is all WWE-style stuff. You know, people who just talk smack and do this and do that. You know, it's unfair. It’s an unfair sport.”
Conlan’s path has not been without incident, and outside the ropes he has certainly been exposed to the politics of boxing, amateur and pro. It was in the Rio Games of 2016 when Conlan’s raised middle finger made global headlines, but his experiences in the pros have not been solely wholesome, either.
“My love for boxing probably left a long time ago,” he said. “It’s not a sport that I believe you can love because it’s never a sport that will love you back. And you understand the damages of boxing, so you’ve got to be very careful of falling in love with a sport, because it can, especially when you’re a fighter, cause serious damage and inflict problems in your life. So I love training hard. I love the people who I’m around and I’m with in boxing. I love what boxing has given me, and the actual fighting and stuff is great. But you’ve got to understand that you can’t be doing this too long because there is detriments for the rest of your life if you get fucked up. So I love the sport of boxing. I love the enjoyment and the hard work that has to go into the boxing. … The business of the game is just so dirty and corrupt that you cannot show that love, as much as you want. You can’t show love.”
Conlan is a manager now, and he says he is passionate about helping others on their own boxing journeys. That gives him a buzz.
“But you just have to have the awareness that there’s not many good people,” he added. “There is loads of great people, but the bad outweighs the good, I believe, in boxing – and that’s unfortunate.”
Tris Dixon covered his first amateur boxing fight in 1996. The former editor of Boxing News, he has written for a number of international publications and newspapers, including GQ and Men’s Health, and is a board member for the Ringside Charitable Trust and the Ring of Brotherhood. He has been a broadcaster for TNT Sports and hosts the popular “Boxing Life Stories” podcast. Dixon is a British Boxing Hall of Famer, an International Boxing Hall of Fame elector, is on The Ring ratings panel and is the author of five boxing books, including “Damage: The Untold Story of Brain Trauma in Boxing” (shortlisted for the William Hill Sportsbook of the Year), “Warrior: A Champion’s Search for His Identity” (shortlisted for the Sunday Times International Sportsbook of the Year) and “The Road to Nowhere: A Journey Through Boxing’s Wastelands.” You can reach him @trisdixon on X and Instagram.
