“AIBA are cheats. F**king cheats. As simple as that”: the rant that turned Michael Conlan into an overnight sensation at last year's Olympics when he lost in a controversial unanimous decision to Russia’s Vladimir Nikitin.
Although, it was not how he envisaged becoming a sensation, and the thought of his dream being taken away from him; an Olympic gold medal, which still hurts him dearly but it is also a massive source of motivation for the Belfast fighter.
Now living in Los Angeles and signed to Top Rank, the biggest boxing promotional company in the world, he has fought three professional fights in less than a year, with the last bout on the undercard of the Pacquiao v Horn fight in Australia.
Now the Irishman is home for the first time since moving to LA and he was speaking on the Second Captains podcast today about the sense of community his homeland has in abundance compared to LA:
Good to see real people for once. There is no sense of community, no sense of realness, back here in Ireland there is a sense of realness, people say hello to each other, the say thank you for opening the door for them. I haven’t got that once.
It seems like a long time ago now but on St. Patricks day of this year, Conor McGregor walked Conlan to the ring for his first professional bout where he beat American Tim Ibarra by TKO in the third round.
Naturally because McGregor is Irish, Conlan wants 'The Notorious' to beat Floyd Mayweather but he still finds it hard to see how he can land a punch on possibly the best defensive boxer of all time,
I am happy for him but it is a fight that is almost impossible. I don't know if he can land a big one on him [Mayweather], he probably can cause something but its very hard to see Floyd [getting hit].
I am friends with Conor, I really like Conor, but Floyd has been impossible to beat. The more I think about, the more I go, 'I don't know think so because when you get Canelo, Oscar De La Hoya, and they can’t beat him and they can’t land cleanly on him, can Conor do it?' It seems impossible but boxing is a sport and anything can happen.
Conlan's next fight will be held in Phoenix Arizona, on September 22, but his opponent has yet to be confirmed.
Naturally he would like to fight in Belfast after that but he was not able to confirm that will be the case, but whenever his homecoming fight is announced, you can be sure that it will be a guaranteed sell out.
Listen to the full Michael Conlan interview here on Second Captains
