By Elliot Foster
Michael 'Mick' Conlan has had the identity of his second professional foe confirmed.
The Belfast super-bantamweight returns to the ring on May 26 at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago.
And Conlan, after his sensational three-round demolition of Tim Ibarra at Madison Square Garden back in March, will come up against Tijuana’s Alfredo Chanez (4-4, 2 KOs).
Chanez is a compact aggressive fighter who will provide the 25-year-old Top Rank-promoted ex-Olympian with a stern test.
Conlan will be looking to move to 2-0 before fighting on the undercard of Manny Pacquiao’s WBO world welterweight title defence against Jeff Horn at the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, Australia on July 2 in a fight which was confirmed by Top Rank boss Bob Arum ahead of his second outing in the paid code.
In other news, Ben Hall has relocated to the States after his first career reverse.
The 24-year-old Essex man, 9-1-1 (2 KOs), was stopped by Carson Jones back in November as the pair clashed for the vacant WBC International Silver super-welterweight title.
But Hall, who has moved down to welterweight, now trains alongside his former foe after linking up with Abel Sanchez and leaving Peter Sims.
Meanwhile, there has been another addition to the undercard of Ryan Burnett’s world title challenge against IBF bantamweight boss Lee Haskins on June 10.
The pair clash at the SSE Arena in Belfast, exclusively live on Sky Sports, and it has now been confirmed that Dublin super-bantamweight Carl McDonald will feature on the same bill.
And Dubliner Aiden Metcalfe is to turn pro, with a debut date to be confirmed in the near future.
The 22-year-old, younger brother of fellow Crumlin fighter Evan, has signed on the dotted line with Boxing Ireland Promotions.