Michael Conlan: Belfast boxer secures interim WBA belt with points win over TJ Doheny

Michael Conlan said he was “absolutely delighted” with his interim WBA featherweight world title points win over TJ Doheny in Belfast’s Falls Park.

The bout went the full 12 rounds, with Conlan taking victory on a unanimous decision of the judges, moving his undefeated pro record to 16-0.

The Belfast boxer said afterwards that he wanted to fight the winner of Stephen Fulton versus Brandon Figueroa.

The pair will fight in September for the WBO world super-bantamweight title.

“My eyes are still on that 122lb word title fight," Conlan told BBC Sport NI.

"This is a 126lbs [win]. I can definitely fluctuate between both, but my eyes are on that 122lb fight if that opportunity is still there with the WBO.

"If it’s there before the end of the year, I’m happy to take it.”

However, there is also a possibility that he could seek a mandatory shot at the outright WBA featherweight title, which was recently won by British boxer, Leigh Wood.

"There’s load of opportunities in both divisions and I’m happy to have the options now," Conlan added.

It was the 29-year-old’s second time fighting at Feile an Phobail in his native west Belfast.

Bout proved to be as entertaining as build-up

Conlan went toe-to-toe with Doheny for 12 rounds in Belfast's Falls Park

A largely respectful build-up to the contest turned sour in fight week, when Conlan and Doheny clashed over their understandings of the weight division for the fight.

Conlan claimed his opponent agreed to fight at a 124lb catchweight, while Doheny insisted the bout was always intended to be at super-bantamweight (122lb).

Doheny’s last fight was in March 2020, when he was beaten on points by Romania's Ionut Balut, who was in turn defeated by Conlan in their April intercontinental super-bantamweight title fight.

Conlan, who is known for switching stances, remained in southpaw for the majority of the contest, going toe-to-toe with regular southpaw Doheny, who fell victim to the Belfast boxer’s check-hooks regularly.

Much of the bout was fought in close quarters, with the referee not allowing much time for either to clinch or hold and even having words with both for getting tangled in the third.

The fifth round nearly saw a stoppage for Conlan, as he threw a series of punches in bunches that resulted in Doheny taking a count.

However, the 34-year-old stuck it out, and even came back to throw a few hard hitters of his own in the round’s final seconds, leaving Conlan with a 10-8 round.

The Portlaoise boxer’s best round was debatably the 11th, as he caught the home fighter with some clean shots and for a short while, it looked like the Olympic bronze medallist was in trouble.

Belfast boxers triumph on undercard

Belfast native Tyrone McKenna won the super-lightweight WBO inter-continental title

It was a successful night all round on the undercard for Belfast’s boxers, with Padraig McCrory securing a fifth-round stoppage win over Russian Sergei Gorokhov to gain the WBC international silver super-middleweight title.

‘The Might Celt’ Tyrone McKenna obtained a unanimous victory over Mexican Jose Felix Jnr in a 10-round super-lightweight clash for the vacant WBO inter-continental title.

The west Belfast southpaw had originally been due for a rescheduled bout with Zhankosh Turarov, after the Kazakh boxer pulled out of their last meeting on the morning of the contest in April, when he tested positive for Covid-19.

Sean McComb won his eight-rounder with a convincing (80-72) display that went the distance against Vincente Martin Rodriguez, a seasoned pugilist who once battled four-weight world champion Adrien Broner for a title back in 2011.

It was McComb’s first outing since the Belfast boxer suffered his first pro defeat in February, when he quit in the seventh round of a Commonwealth lightweight title fight against Gavin Gwynne.

Upcoming Belfast prospect James McGivern also secured a 60-54 win in the scorecards over Ed Harrison, bringing the 23-year-old’s professional record to 3-0.