Sport

Jamie Conlan expected to face Rex Tso in December world title showdown

Tyrone McKenna celebrates victory over Ferenc Katona in the International Super-Lightweight Contest at Waterfront Hall
Tyrone McKenna celebrates victory over Ferenc Katona in the International Super-Lightweight Contest at Waterfront Hall Tyrone McKenna celebrates victory over Ferenc Katona in the International Super-Lightweight Contest at Waterfront Hall

JAMIE Conlan is lining up a world title fight against Hong Kong ‘Wonder Kid’ Rex Tso in Belfast.

The Irish News understands that Conlan and Tso will battle it out for the WBO super-flyweight title on Saturday, December 9 at the Odyssey Arena.

The WBO belt is currently held by Japan’s Naoya Inoue who will defend it against Antonio Nieves in September. But he is expected to vacate the title after that fight and move up to bantamweight.

Conlan’s Los Angeles-based younger brother Michael is expected to make his home debut on the show.

TYRONE McKenna is targeting a step up in class against WBA Continental super-lightweight champion Robbie Davies junior after he extended his unbeaten record to 14-0-1 last Saturday night.

McKenna powered to a third stoppage win on-the-trot against Ferenc Katona at the Waterfont Hall and is now looking forward to a “big title fight in September”.

“I want Robbie Davies junior next,” he said.

“I would love Ohara Davies but he’s fighting Josh Taylor.”

He added: “Hopefully bigger fighters will step forward and fight me.

“I’ve been calling them out, I think they’re scared. I’ve called out numerous fighters, hopefully they’ve watched tonight and seem weaknesses.

“Hopefully I’ll have a big title fight in September.”

A crushing bodyshot had Katona in trouble in the first round on Saturday night but he battled on gamely until the fourth when an uppercut flashed through his guard and left his nose in a bloody mess. Referee John Lowey had seen enough and waved it off.

“I have no cuts, no bruises and I kept my KO streak going,” said a delighted McKenna afterwards.

“He (Katona) was a tough man.

“I caught him with some nice shots – I hurt him with a bodyshot in the first round and I nearly went for it. I was going to try and put him out, but I listened to my coach when he said to calm down while I was throwing all the shots so I stepped off him – I didn’t want to lose all my energy.

“He kept coming even though I caught him with some lovely shots. He was game, but I hit him with that uppercut and that was the end of it thankfully.

“He fought for a while in every round and I let him have his wee rally to wear his energy out a bit and then I would take over.

“It didn’t bother me at all when he was doing that – it might have looked bad but it was my plan to let him do it.”

At 6’1”, McKenna is one of the tallest light-welterweights on the scene and he has no plans to move up in weight.

“I make it easy enough,” he said.

“I was actually debating whether to go down to lightweight.

“But I’m going to stay at welterweight and build up more muscle because it’s no struggle to me. I’ll be here for the coming years anyway.”

STEVEN Ward scored the first stoppage win of his career on Saturday night but the Belfast cruiserweight might have preferred to go the distance.

Ward dropped opponent Istvan Orsos with a thumping bodyshot in the first round but the gutsy Hungarian survived until 2.59 in the fourth when referee Eamonn Magill jumped in to save him from further punishment.

“It was my first stoppage, my first six-rounder,” Ward reflected afterwards.

“I was really looking forward to getting the six rounds and that’s why we brought that guy (Orsos) in.

“We wanted someone durable because I want to get up to eight rounds as soon as possible. The sooner I get up, the sooner I get into contention for titles.

“I know I’m a good bit away, but I think the skill is there, it’s just the experience and the rounds.

“I never feel tired but sometimes I load up to much on my shots – I need to get a bit more snap and timing into them and that’s what we’re working on.

“The corner was telling me to dip down into the body and I think if I had I could have got him out of there sooner – but I’m happy enough.

“It’s another win, it wasn’t as sharp as I wanted to be. I had a wee niggle in training and I didn’t get much sparring in but it’s not an excuse.

Like many of the local fighters on Saturday night’s bill at the Waterfront Hall, Ward is keen to appear on the undercard of Carl Frampton’s Odyssey spectacular on July 29.

“I’m hoping to get a phonecall to be on the Frampton bill – but I think everyone is saying that,” he said.

“Belfast comes to a standstill when Frampton fights. He’s an idol here and he’s a guy that I look up to for what he’s achieved. To be on his bill would be a dream come true.”

ANDRE Ward proclaimed himself the pound-for-pound world number one after stopping Sergey Kovalev in their rematch to retain his unified light-heavyweight world championship.

An eighth-round win via a controversial technical knockout took Ward to 32 wins from 32 in his career and the 33-year-old then set his sights on climbing the weight classes.

Speaking after the fight, he said: “Let me ask you the question: Can I get on the pound-for-pound list now? At the top?

“Hopefully, against a great fighter like Sergey Kovalev, we'll get our credit tonight and get atop that pound-for-pound list."

He said of his future plans: “Maybe cruiserweight, I don't know. Cruiserweight, heavyweight, that's always been a dream of mine. I dream big and anything is possible."

An impressive performance from Ward was marred by the ending to the fight, with a succession of borderline low blows securing the stoppage after he had initially rocked the Russian with a powerful straight right to the head.

Kovalev was aggrieved at losing the pair's first meeting last November having knocked Ward down in round two, and again he was frustrated at the stoppage.

“I couldn't believe it, I could win," he said.

“Only a low blow (hurt me)," he added, before watching video of the end of the fight and observing: "Low blow - and I felt this. Again, another one. The first one was on the border, and the second one a low blow."

Ward was unrepentant when watching the same footage.

“When I saw him react to the body shots that were borderline, I knew I had him," he said. "Go back down there. Why get away from it?

“Then I hurt him with a head shot and I just had to get the right shots in there to get it over with. That one's probably borderline - he was hurt, I went right back there again, he wasn't reacting, right back there again and the referee stopped it.”

There had already been controversy on the undercard as Guillermo Rigondeaux knocked out Moises Flores right at the end of the first round to retain his WBA world super bantamweight title.

The verdict was only confirmed after a long review during which referee Vic Drakulich initially suggested he would rule the fight a no-contest, due to Rigondeaux holding Flores behind the head and possibly landing the knockout punch after the bell, while Flores was criticised by some observers who suggested he had exaggerated the effect of the knockout punch.