The pro game beckons for World amateur champion Michael Conlan, and the transcendent pugilistic icon has revealed that fans are likely to see him back in action next year as opposed to the end of this one.
Appearing on The Anton Savage Show, the 24-year-old Belfast man was asked if he had any regrets about his now infamous/famous outburst to Evanne Ní Chuilinn on RTÉ following his controversial 'defeat' to Russia's Wladimir Nikitin:
No, not at all. If I didn't react like that I'd be sitting here today with a lot of regret in my mind. There's nothing I can do to change it so I'm not worried about it anymore. But if I hadn't said what I said, I'd probably still be worrying about it.
Conlan also told Savage that he watched the fight back on a number of occasions, but unsurprisingly never wavered in his belief that he beat Nikitin, saying, "Every time I watch it back I think I won by even more!"
When it was suggested that Conlan be tempted to remain amateur until the Tokyo Games to right the wrongs of this summer, he replied:
There's not one bone in my body that would like to stay for 2020. I don't think I'll watch an Olympic Games again. I'm not watching the Paralympics - I'm rooting for everybody but I'm not watching them. I' won't be watching any Paralympic or Olympic event under that Olympic committee, or any event that involves that sport [amateur boxing]. I'll be cheering for all the Irish lads who go to the next Olympic Games but I'll not be watching.
The current World amateur bantamweight champ also laughed off talk of AIBA's plans to 'discipline' him for his RTÉ rage, saying of the organisation's president Ching-Kuo Wu:
It's very funny, like. This guy who's humiliated me, and the judges who humiliated me, trying to say that I should face disciplinary action for humiliating them.
A lot of the judges got sacked, so, they've kind of admitted their guilt that they've done something wrong. But that doesn't change a result for me, so it doesn't matter what happens to them.
And now they're going to come and try and discipline me. I hope they do try. It'll go down like a sinking ship. Not a chance. They can say they'll fine me whatever they want - I've nothing to do with amateur boxing anymore. I actually hope the discipline they give me is a ban for life. I'll never be doing it again anyway so I hope they ban me for life.
The amateur standout has long been tipped to make waves in the pro game, and with a changeover now imminent, he revealed that he won't be returning to the ring until 2017 due to the various administrative and negotiative tasks now facing him, as bids to accrue his services continue to flood in from both the UK and America:
It's very hard, actually. I have a lot to do, a lot of changes to make and a lot of contracts to go through. A lot still needs to be done.
I will definitely be a professional soon and it'll definitely be announced soon enough, but at the minute I'm still going through contract negotiations and picking the right team to put around me, and the right coaches as well, is another thing I'm going to have to do. It's all going to take a bit of time.
I don't think you should worry about [seeing me in the ring] this year. I think you're free enough this year, you don't have to get tickets or flights or anything like that. Wait 'til next year. You'll find out soon, but it'll not be this year, anyway.
Conlan, too, subscribes to the belief that his Olympic saga and the subsequent controversy will bolster his profile as a professional. Rarely has an amateur boxing result transcended mainstream media worldwide to such an extent, and he believes he'll reap the benefits:
I'm in a great position now. I'm happy with how things have turned out since the Games. I've got a lot of support and I've gained a lot of fans. I have a lot of momentum going into the professional game. I've had a lot of big offers, which is also very pleasing. Life is good at the minute.
[The Anton Savage Show, TodayFM]
