Michael Conlan won’t forget this finish in a hurry.
Huge things are expected of the London 2012 bronze medallist in the professional ranks and the Belfast man extended his pro record to 4-0 in some style on Friday night.
Conlan, who you might remember from his sweary rant about the state of amateur boxing following a controversial defeat at Rio 2016 last year, claimed the fourth straight stoppage of his fledgling pro career by starching American opponent Kenny Guzman in Arizona overnight.
Having stopped each of his first three opponents in the third round, Conlan did one better with Guzman as he needed just two rounds to get the job done and keep the hype train rolling to the next stop.
It was all Conlan from start to finish and, once the 25-year-old hopped up from his stool after the second round, he turned the pace up a gear.
A monster right hand gives @mickconlan11 his most emphatic win yet against his toughest opponent to date — Kenny Guzman. pic.twitter.com/0hgW89xo3H
— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) September 23, 2017
Damage began showing on Guzman’s face and, with 10 seconds to go until the end of the second round, a devastating right hand sent the the heavy underdog sprawling to the canvas and despite his best efforts to answer the count, the referee had seen enough.
“I felt good,” Conlan told Box Nation after his most impressive victory to date.
“At the start I was a bit worried, I felt that he didn’t have any power so I did the wrong thing and got reckless and wasn’t minding taking punches, which is stupid of me.
“Manny [Robles] shouted at me in the corner but I was just happy to get a nice knock-out.
4 wins 4 KO's
On to the next one, Dec 9th NYC @thegarden 🍀 #TheConlanRevolution @TRBoxing pic.twitter.com/jP6r6nHtNo
— Michael Conlan (@mickconlan11) September 23, 2017
“I felt a bit more power tonight, I was working the body a bit more.”
Conlan also revealed that he will fight once more before his debut year is out, having already been added to the undercard of one of the most anticipated fights of 2017 as he will take to the ring again prior to Vasyl Lomachenko vs. Guillermo Rigondeaux in Madison Square Garden this December.
“It’s a really special venue to me,” Conlan said of his next outing.
“For me to fight there, on possibly the two greatest amateurs’ [undercard] ever in world boxing, it’s a huge honour.”
