Michael Conlan keeps climbing higher and the heights don’t bother him.
On Saturday night, the stakes are upped again as the Belfast boxer heads for a fifth professional victory.
- Maidson Square Garden
- Tougher opponent
- Chief-support bout to Lomachenko-Rigondeaux
It’s another step on the road to becoming a world champion, a destination the 26-year-old makes no bones about trying to reach.
So he looks at Luis Fernando Molina in New York and sees him as a stepping stone. It might be a more difficult one to scale in the eyes of the experts but the Irish featherweight is feeling good and he’s looking good.
He stands taller than his Argentine adversary, he weighs more at 126.2lbs and he’s still undefeated in contrast to this weekend’s opponent whose record reads 7-3-1.
And with Conlan, there’s no need for show-boating or dick-measuring. He just came out, looked down on Molina, looked fresh and primed, he smiled for the cameras, he shook hands and he walked off.
It was a lesson to young boxers growing up watching on at this man becoming a bigger and bigger role model with every bout. You can be aggressive, but you can be respectful.
And, for this weigh-in, it was business as usual for Mick Conlan. Polite, calm, tapering. Saving it for when it matters.
“I’m feeling great and really looking forward to the fight,” Conlan said after the weigh-in.
“I made the weight easy this time and the whole week has been brilliant.
“I’m confident that I’ll win and win it fairly easily, but this guy [Molina] is a good step up for me. He was decent as an amateur and he’s only had a few losses as a pro – I believe one or two of them were disputed – so I expect him to be looking to come and claim a scalp.”
Conlan’s weigh-in was just an exercise in relaxation. He’s done the work, there won’t be any battles fought tonight.
But he will bring war when he has to. Not before, not after.
He’ll leave the rest of the talking for the ring.
