CONOR Quinn was a youngster at Clonard ABC when Michael Conlan was an Olympic medallist preparing to win the World Championships.
Next month (May 27) Quinn will be on the undercard at the SSE Arena when his former clubmate bids to add a professional world title to his amateur crown.
“Michael finished his amateur career in Clonard Boxing Club, the club I grew up training in,” he explained.
“At that stage he was boxing for Ireland constantly, he wasn’t in the club that much because he was in Dublin a lot, but I remember he did a couple of rounds with me and he would come down to the gym and show you things and help all the kids out.
“At that time I was just 15-16 so it was brilliant. Even for the coaches in the club now it’s brilliant for them to say that on May 27th they’re going to watch someone who trained in the club become a world champion with someone who grew up in the club also on the card.”
Quinn has no doubt that Conlan will dethrone Mexico’s Luis Lopez and win the IBF belt and he wants to give a packed house at the SSE Arena something to sing and dance about too.
“I always go out with the same attitude,” said Quinn.
“I go out to box and show what I can do. You have to pinch yourself when you get these opportunities because they’re always amazing but, on the other end of things, that’s what I fight for. I full believe I’m capable and good enough to be on these shows but there loads of good fighters in Ireland so I’m delighted to get the chance.
“I know it’s going to be a great night, a great night for everyone – fighters and supporters – and Michael Conlan will be crowned world champion.
The positive impact that boxing has had, and continues to have, on young people and their communities in Belfast is immeasurable. Quinn says fighting greats from ‘Rinty Monaghan’ to Brian Magee and Paddy Barnes and Wayne McCullagh to Carl Frampton and now Conlan are an inspiration to the hordes of youngsters who are drawn to the cities’ busy gyms.
“You just have to take a look at the fighters who come out of this city,” said Quinn.
“Belfast is carrying boxing in Ireland and obviously you have your absolute superstars like Katie Taylor and Frampton and now Michael Conlan but the fighters at the lower levels are putting on great shows week-in, week-out.
“Look at Mark Dunlop’s shows, I’ve been lucky to be a part of them and it’s great for people to be able to go out and support you and have a great night but also watch you trying to achieve something too.”
CAOMHIN Agyarko will fight former WBO European middleweight title contender Grant Dennis (18-4) on the undercard of Katie Taylor versus Chantelle Cameron at the 3Arena in Dublin on May 20.
The former Holy Trinity ABC champion, now operating as a super-welterweight after beginning his career at middleweight, returns to action for the first time since July last year when he extended his unbeaten record as a professional to 12-0 with a points win over Lukasz Maciec.
Now based in Liverpool at the Rotunda Gym, Agyarko has put a troublesome hand injury behind him and will mean to impress as ‘big time’ boxing returns to Dublin.
PODY McCrory’s world title eliminator with Brazilian Yamaguchi Falcao could be back on after the former Olympic Games medallist’s challenge for David Morrell’s WBA ‘regular’ crown failed to materialise
McCrory had been gearing up to face Yamaguchi but had then turned his attention to a domestic dust-up with Joe Gallagher-trained Mark Heffron.
However, the picture has changed once again with news that Morrell will face Jose Uzcategui instead meaning that ‘Guchi’ is available after all. The Brazilian’s representatives have already visited Belfast and McCrory-Yamaguchi could be chief support to Michael Conlan versus Luis Lopez for the IBF featherweight title at the SSE Arena on May 27.
SPECULATION that Anthony Cacace could meet Liam Dillon on the undercard of Michael Conlan-Luis Lopez in Belfast on May 20 appears to be wide of the mark.
Unbeaten Dillon (12-0-1) is the English super-featherweight champion but he isn’t ranked by the IBO currently and so would be ineligible to challenge Cacace for his IBO super-featherweight title.
Coming to Belfast to take on tried-and-tested Cacace will be a step up for the 27-year-old who has and has fought exclusively at York Hall in his native London so far.
Cacace (20-1) has aged like a fine wine and won the IBO title with a career-best display at Michael Magnesi in Manchester. He hasn’t fought in his native city since 2015 and is relishing the opportunity to defend his title at a packed SSE Arena.
JASON Quigley cantered to a shut-out comeback win against Gabor Gorbics at the National Stadium in Dublin last Saturday night.
The Donegal super-middleweight was a 100-90 winner over 10 rounds as he returned to action following almost 18 months on the sidelines in the aftermath of his loss to WBO middleweight champion Demetrius Andrade.
The Andy Lee-trained Ballybofey native progressed to 19-2 with the victory on a bill that included wins for Brett McGinty and Paddy Donovan.
“It’s not that I was out of the ring for injuries or anything,” Quigley told irishboxing.com.
“It’s because I was coming off a heavy defeat and there was definitely question marks over what’s next for me in my career.
“I had to overcome a lot in the build-up, a lot of memories from the last fight, so I’m very happy with the way that I controlled myself before the fight.”
CONNOR ‘The Kid’ Coyle will defend his NABA middleweight championship against Fernando Ezequiel Farias on April 29 at the Hilton Carillon in St Petersburg, Florida.
The Derry fighter has Coyle’s a perfect 18-0 record with eight wins by knockout and he won the NABA title last May and successfully defended his belt by scoring a seventh round stoppage of Sladan Janjanin last December.
Ranked four by the WBA, a win against Farias will push Coyle into the world title mix. Born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Farias travels to Florida with a 10-2-2 record that includes four stoppage wins. He has stopped previously unbeaten Aldo Javier Villalba and has also mixed it with potential Pody McCrory opponent Yamaguchi Falcao.
