By Elliot Foster

Michael Conlan further staked his claim for a world title shot with another win.

The Belfast featherweight added the vacant WBA Inter-Continental title to his WBO Inter-Continental bauble on Saturday night at Falls Park in Belfast.

Conlan, who had been set to face former amateur nemesis Vladimir Nikitin before he pulled out with a bicep injury, took on Diego Alberto Ruiz, exclusively live on BT Sport in the UK and ESPN+ Stateside, and got rid of the Argentine in the penultimate of 10 rounds in front of a vociferous crowd of more than 10,000 people.

And after Michael Alexander called a halt to the one-sided proceedings after one minute and 34 seconds of round nine, attention quickly turned to Conlan and his ability to fight for a world title sooner rather than later.

“I want to give a big thank you to everyone who came out. To be able to do this, as a proud West Belfast boy, in a park where I grew up, this is unbelievable,” he said while being watched on by Top Rank head honcho Bob Arum who promotes him. “I’ve not lived up to performances in the past but I think I managed to do what I needed to in this one.”

Conlan is part of a stacked division which features world champions such as Oscar Valdez, Leo Santa Cruz, Josh Warrington and Gary Russell Jr.
But he is not fazed by the idea of stepping up in class at any point within the next 12 months.

“Who’s to say we can’t do it here –– at Féile an Phobail festival –– next year? I’m sure the guys can make it happen and even get about 20,000 in,” he added. “I’ll fight any of them. I want to fight for a world title but in this venue and with this support, this atmosphere and this crowd, I’ll fight anyone.”

As mentioned, Arum was ringside and watched the former Olympian fight in front of his home fans for just the second time since he turned professional back in 2017.

“He was very, very good,” he said in the aftermath when being spoken to by host UK broadcaster BT Sport. “Let me tell you something, the young guys in the featherweight division is great. He’s up there with all these great featherweights and my goal is to get him ready for a world title fight next year.

“I think Mick is still a work in progress but he’s coming along fine and I think by next year he is going to fight anyone in the featherweight division.”

Conlan, however, had the last word and stated that there was plenty more good things to come from him.

He said: “I believe this is the first performance I’ve properly performed at a certain level, but I’ve got so many more levels to go and I believe I can beat any of them. This is just the start.”