By: Sean Crose
Featherweight champion Michael Conlan has cleared any questions regarding whether he will ever return to form after being knocked out earlier this year in a title fight with Leigh Wood. On Saturday, the Irishman 17-1 impressed a live Belfast audience by simply boxing – and even beating – Miguel Marriaga 30-6 in the tenth round.
“I had to get rid of a lot of demons tonight,” Conlan said afterward, “even in the last round, you know, he hit me once—that guy can punch. He has 10 more kills than me. He hit me with a jab in the first round and was like, ‘Oh, this guy can really beat.’ “It may not have been an easy victory for the famous boxer, but Saturday’s bout proved to be a successful comeback.
However, Marriaga showed Conlan that he still had business intentions in the tenth and final round by ringing Conlan’s bell. “For me,” said Conlan, who Wood knocked out in the final round of their thriller a few months ago, “to get through that and it was the last round, I was knocked down in the last match in the last round, I think that says a lot. I’m back, baby. I am ready for any of them.”
As for who Conlan wants to fight next, the answer is clear. “Obviously I want Leigh Wood,” he said. “If not, it’s anybody else, any other champion. I will be world champion. I know I can do it.” Earning a unanimous decision victory after dropping Marriaga three times seems to have given the former Olympian the strength he needs. “Whoever I have to face,” Conlan said of the future, “I know I will beat.”
