Confirmation Incoming -Conlan vs Wood set for New York and St Patricks Day?
New York could be set for its biggest ever St Patrick’s Day as Matchroom look set to bring a massive Irish-influenced fight night to Madison Square Garden in 2022.
It’s understood New York and March 17 have moved into Michael Conlan versus Leigh Wood WBA world ‘interim’ title venue and date pole position.
Indeed, rumour suggests Eddie Hearn could well very well confirm a Big green Apple fight night in the coming weeks.
There is no official confirmation as of yet but it’s understood New York is first choice and is seriously being explored.
The English side of the fight, Leigh Wood also confirmed on DAZN over the weekend he expects to take on the Belfast fighter in March, fueling Patrick’s Day talk in the process.
There has been constant chatter and gossip with regard to this world title eliminator since the WBA mandated it earlier this year.
At one stage Belfast and December looked very likely but an injury to the Nottingham fighter put paid to any hopes of that.
Finally, after prolonged and unsuccessful negotiations between Matchroom, who promote champ Wood, Top Rank, and Conlan Boxing who look after the Irish star, Eddie Hearn won purse bids to promote the fight.
The Essex promoter lodged a purse bid of $1.5 million three hundred thousand dollars more than Top Rank’s bid. It means the fight will play out on a Matchroom card and be broadcast on DAZN.
Where Hearn will promote the fight has to be officially confirmed. Wood’s hometown of Nottingham has been mentioned, Belfast is an option but the grapevine suggests New York is now the front runner.
Speaking previously to Irish-boxing.com, Conlan said he believed the Matchroom boss wants to promote the fight in America and take advantage of his Garden following.
“New York and St Paddy‘s day, would be ideal for me,” Conlan told Irish-boxing.com.
“It’s where I started my pro career and it’s where I’d love to win my first world title ‘.
“I think it could do 20,000 in the big room. There is talk of Katie being on the card against Serrano that makes sense. It makes a lot of sense to do it in New York. That’s where I want and I think that’s what Eddie Hearn wants.
“We’ve heard him talking in his interviews and he keeps mentioning it’s either gonna be in New York, Belfast or Nottingham. The way he’s lining it out it’s gonna’ be in New York. ”
Throwing a more investigative eye over it, the Top Rank world title hopeful also surmises New York is the only venue that would prompt Hearn to make such a sizeable purse bid.
“I think he’s probably seen what I’ve done in New York. I think that’s probably why they’ve got that much money together to make that bid, they see what we can do in New York City. I think DAZN looked at that and said ‘we want a piece of that’.
“We’ve done unbelievable shows with Top Rank in the Garden every single saint Patrick’s day bar the last two because of Covid. The atmosphere is just something different. I think any kind of fight fan needs to experience that and any fighter would love to experience that.”
Hearn has discussed going to the Mecca of boxing in April with the eagerly anticipated Katie Taylor versus Amanda Serano title fight.
If he was to do Conlan and Wood in on Paddys Day he could put as chief support to the ‘biggest fight in female boxing history’. If Jason Quigley was to upset Demetrius Andrade to become WBO middleweight champion of the world this Friday he might throw his hat in the ring. Joe Ward has fought on a Matchroom show at the Garden previously, Thomas O’Toole appears on this Friday’s card, Ray Moylette and the Murphy’s crew do tickets on the East Coast as does Larry Fryers, while Thomas Carty , who has a direct link to Matchroom via his manager Dillian Whyte has family in New York.
