Michael Conlan was knocked out in ruthless fashion in Belfast this evening by Mexican fighter Luis Alberto Lopez.
The IBF featherweight champion put in a demolition job on the Belfast fighter on his own turf on Saturday and defended the title he won back in 2022 when he beat Josh Warrington in Leeds.
Conlan suffered a barrage of bodyblows and trainer Adam Booth wisely opted to throw in the towel in the fifth round after a terrifying uppercut left Conlan on the mat. Medics attended to Conlan in the aftermath of the TKO and he eventually was on his feet Conlan's pro record now stands at 18-2.
Michael Conlan stopped by TKO
BUILT DIFFERENT 🇲🇽
Luis Alberto Lopez with a sensational display in Belfast 🏆#LopezConlan pic.twitter.com/ILZWkPWrnm— Boxing on BT Sport 🥊 (@BTSportBoxing) May 27, 2023
It's Conlan's second big defeat knockout in a title fight in a 14-month span, after his TKO defeat to Leigh Wood in Nottingham last year.
The thrill and the agony...
All class and respect between Luis Alberto Lopez and Michael Conlan 👏#LopezConlan pic.twitter.com/7mJbtYsUKx— Boxing on BT Sport 🥊 (@BTSportBoxing) May 27, 2023
Conlan's ring walk to Grace left goosebumps stuff as you'd expect, but the challenge was too big for him tonight. The defeat leaves his career at a crossroads and caps a dire 7 days for Irish boxing, following the soured homecoming for Katie Taylor at the Point last Saturday.
In front of his home crowd and he is fired up! 🔥
Michael Conlan makes his way to the ring 🥊#LopezConlan pic.twitter.com/vPCsZiUhKE— Boxing on BT Sport 🥊 (@BTSportBoxing) May 27, 2023
Speaking ahead of the fight, Conlan told The Rocky Road podcast about his preparation for the fight. He was under no illusions about the challenge he faced.
“He has a mad shot selection, punches hard, very fit, really, really good fighter. Really high-calibre fighter. Better fighter than Leigh Wood, in my opinion. It’s a really tough challenge.
“I’m working at perfecting as many things as I possibly can and getting rid of mistakes.
“Getting them all gone, because I do make mistakes. We’re human, we all make mistakes.
“Some mistakes are engrained from amateur days and doing things for so long and getting away with them, which you don’t always get away with so you’ve got to make sure you fix them. We’ve been working on things and it’s been good.”
