Michael Conlan: The amateur legend who failed to achieve his professional dream

Michael Conlan began his professional boxing career with great fanfare and an ambition to become a multi-weight champion, but although he came close, he was unable to replicate his amateur success.

The 34-year-old put his career on hold following Friday’s defeat to Kevin Walsh in Belfast when his last throw of the dice to get back into title contention collapsed.

A polarizing figure, Conlan can sell out arenas and outdoor venues to as many as 12,000 people, while drawing the ire of others in his city.

What cannot be disputed is his talent inside the ring, with his silky switch-hitting skills taking him from the streets of west Belfast to the top of the amateur game and a short distance away as a professional.

“I didn’t think I lost tonight, but the score was very close for me, and no matter how I lose, no matter if it’s a steal, I said this would be my time,” Conlan told reporters in the dressing room after his defeat to Walsh.

“It’s all very difficult right now, and how I answer the questions is all emotion.

“How light I feel at this moment is probably a relief. I’ve had a lot of pressure on my expectations, a lot of expectations, even my own.

“I didn’t get what I wanted but I said so when I got back to it [in 2025] It would be great if I achieved it, but if I didn’t so be it. “This is the situation, and now I can spend time with my family.”

After following his brothers into the boxing gym when he was seven, Conlan became one of, if not the, best Irish amateur.

Collecting Antrim, Ulster and Irish titles as a junior, his first major international competition came at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, where he fell short as a 17-year-old to Australia’s Jason Moloney.

This was just the beginning, the following year he won the first of the Irish Elite Five titles earning him a place in the team for the World Championships in Baku, reaching the quarter-finals and earning a place at the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

There, he achieved great success, reaching the semi-finals where he lost to Cuban Rubesy Ramírez but came back with a bronze medal to great acclaim.