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Mick Conlan explains reasons for Adam Booth switch

Mick Conlan [5(4)-0] believes his link-up with Adam Booth will bring him back to his best as he embarks on his second year as a professional.

The Belfast featherweight began his paid career with Manny Robles in The Rock Gym in Carson, California, moving across the Atlantic to the US West Coast.

Here Conlan was a gym mate of world champions Jessie Magdaleno [WBO super bantamweight] and Oscar Valdez [WBO featherweight], however the 2015 World Amateur champion felt he was perhaps becoming too gung-ho in the Mexican-dominated gym,

The 26-year-old Falls Road has therefore opted to switch to London and ‘The Dark Lord’ to be closer to home and closer to his preferred style.

After a trial period of a week, Conlan yesterday confirmed the switch and described how “I’m really excited about the move. It’s one I took a lot of time to think about, but I knew if I was moving closer to home that I wanted to link up with Adam.

“I always said that if I ever came back closer to home that I’d want to train with Adam Booth so the question was did he want to train with me? Fortunately, he did.

“I’d like to thank Manny for all his help. I really enjoyed the time we spent working together and I learned a lot, it was a great experience.”

Outlining his reasoning for the move, Conlan noted how “I just felt I needed a change and it was important to be training closer to home for my family.”

“We have another baby on the way and I think this will make life a lot easier both personally and professionally.”

“I was moving towards more of a Mexican style and I think Adam Booth probably suits my natural style so I’m looking forward to getting ready to fight. ”

“I think working with Adam will help me develop, but I’ll also be able to get back to what I do best and concentrate on my boxing skills,” added the London 2012 Olympic bronze medallist.

Conlan’s move means he is now a gym-mate of IBF-WBA unified bantamweight champion Ryan Burnett [18(9)-0]. The pair met in the amateurs back in 2011 with Conlan winning 4:3 and many believed they would come together in the pros. However, with Conlan now two weights up and seemingly only getting bigger, this now looks unlikely.

The Top Rank fighter returns to the ring on March 17th, headlining his second successive St Patrick’s Day show at The Theater at Madison Square Garden.

Conlan believes he has already started developing and improving under Booth ahead of this fight date.

He said that “I’m really happy with how things have gone so far,” said Conlan. “I feel like I’ve got a good bond with Adam and the lads in the gym too.”

“I’ve really clicked with them and I’m really looking forward to getting things going and working towards Paddy’s Day in New York.”

“I see the bond Adam has with his fighters. That’s something that I felt was probably missing for me and it’s one of the main reasons I came here,” added Conlan.

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Joe O'Neill

Reporting on Irish boxing the past five years. Work has appeared on irish-boxing.com, Boxing News, the42.ie, and local and national media. Provide live ringside updates, occasional interviews, and special features on the future of Irish boxing. email: joneill6@tcd.ie

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