Mick Conlan calls for undefeated test following flawless first year

Mick Conlan [6(5)-0] is keen to make a step up when he returns to The Garden.

Last night it was confirmed that the Belfast featherweight will fight on the Jorge Linares v Vasyl Lomachenko undercard at the Madison Square Garden Arena on May 12th.

The bout will be Conlan’s seventh and he wants to be tested.

So far the Top Rank prospect has breezed through his opening opposition, most of which has been relatively strong for a new fighter.

However, the 26-year-old World Championships gold and Olympic bronze medalist has buckets of pedigree and believes he is ready for bigger fights following a year of adjustment.

The Falls Road man is brimming with confidence following his quickest stoppage to date last weekend versus David Berna in what was also his first fight with Adam Booth.

Now, Conlan wants an undefeated fighter and a real test.

He outlined how “hopefully we’ll be able to get a fight with someone undefeated because I want to step up again and show what I can do.

“My trainer Adam Booth has brought back what I’m good at, which is using my boxing skills to break opponents down rather than steam in there and try to take them out quickly.”

“It felt great to be in there against Berna. The fans turned out and the atmosphere was simply amazing. I wish the fight had gone on longer but that’s the way it goes sometimes.”

As the woefully overmatched Berna proved, records can be misleading and a testing foe next for Conlan is more crucial than one with an attractive record – although that is no harm additionally.

Rival prospect faces the 12-0 Roxberg Riley next month, the possessor of another inflated record. For Conlan in May, someone like Brooklyn’s Jude Franklin [7(6)-0] – who is coming off a knockout win over a former Italian champion last month – could be an option.

Regardless of who it is for Conlan next, he needs a step up in level – especially as he plans to be challenging for a world title around this time next year.

With a homecoming in Belfast on the horizon, Conlan is keen to progress through the ranks beforehand.

“There are talks about fighting in Belfast in the summer and this fight will set that up,” he added.