The last time RTÉ broadcast professional boxing was back in 2011, when Willie 'Big Bang' Casey was big-banged halfway out of the ring by all-time great amateur Guillermo Rigondeaux at Dublin's Citywest.
And so the curtain was drawn on RTÉ's pro boxing coverage; the economic downturn and other factors saw to that, but the sport itself was plunged into the doldrums just a couple of years after 500,000 people watched Bernard Dunne win the WBA super-bantamweight title on Ireland's State broadcaster.
The paid ranks in Ireland are now somewhat resurgent, with a plethora of pugilistic talent making waves in the sport and BoxNation in particular - which was recently added to Eir's BT Sport package - consistently showcasing some of the island's finest pros.
RTÉ's Head of Sport Ryle Nugent recently confirmed to a boxing fan on Twitter that the professional sport is simply too expensive for them to broadcast live; add to this the fact that, due to boxing's lack of a concrete schedule, it's nigh on impossible for RTÉ to set aside funds for it.
However, with Mick Conlan's professional debut at Madison Square Garden's Theatre looming large, RTÉ have announced that they'll show extended highlights of his pro bow on Saturday March 18th - a night after Conlan takes to the ring for the first time as a professional.
An RTÉ statement said:
RTÉ today announced that it will show full highlights of two-time Olympian Michael Conlan's professional debut from the Theater in Madison Square Garden.
Conlan takes on Tim Ibarra at featherweight on St Patrick's Night 17 March in New York and on Saturday 18 March Darragh Maloney will be joined by Bernard Dunne and Jim Rock for highlights at 8.00pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player.
The fight will be broadcast live on BoxNation, but for those yet to subscribe to the boxing-only channel, highlights of Conlan's fight will now the available on RTÉ a day later. It's a small but significant step forward for the new generation of Irish stars.
You can listen to Michael Conlan's brother, Commonwealth champion Jamie Conlan, previewing his own fight this Friday as well as Mick's New York bow on The Irish Boxing Show.
