On St Patricks Day, at the world-famous Madison Square Garden venue, the Irish fighter Michael Conlan got his professional career off to the best possible start.
The Belfast fighter who won a bronze medal at the London 2012 Olympics but who exited the tournament at the Rio 2016 games as a victim of the poor scoring, was facing Tim Ibarra.
Led into the ring by the UFC fighter Conor McGregor, a man who is chasing fight with the legend that is Floyd Mayweather Jnr, was cheered on by in excess of 5,000 Irish fans in the arena.
In a cacophony of noise, Conlan got his career off to the best possible start with the highly rated super-bantamweight putting on an impressive display of boxing that forced the referee, Benjy Esteves, to step in, during the third round, to bring the fight to a halt, when Ibarra was caught by a huge right hand that left him in trouble against the ropes.
Talking about his debut bout, Conlan had this to say to the media afterwards,
“There was pressure and the thing I was most worried about was my performance.
“At times it showed because I was a bit reckless and was not timing my shots. I was just looking for the knockout.
“I am grateful to all the fans who travelled here. I have never experienced anything like that atmosphere in my life.
“To have that on my debut – I do not think it will ever be beaten.”
Conlan, just 25-years of age, appears to have a big future in the professional game and we?ll endeavour to keep a watchful eye on his progress.
Conlan Wins on Professional Debut
