Michael Conlan has an opponent for his long-awaited professional debut.
The London 2012 flyweight bronze medallist is set to make his first foray into the pro ranks in March, and will come up against American Tim Ibarra in his first outing, according to Irish-boxing.com.
Ibarra holds a professional record of 4-4 which seems about right given the fact that Top Rank will not want to test Conlan too much too soon.
Mick Conlan debut opponent will be Tim Ibarra (4-4) #TheTakeover #MSG #March17 ☘👊 pic.twitter.com/whTKbcaGtv
— IRISH BOXING NEWS (@IrishBoxinNews) January 17, 2017
Ibarra has one knockout victory to his name, which came last August, but is coming off a unanimous decision defeat.
Interestingly Conlan is actually training under the father of a former opponent of Ibarra as the Belfast boxer is spending his time in Manny Robles’ The Rock gym in Los Angeles.
This gym is a serious, serious place to be and @mickconlan11 looks right at home https://t.co/uC5uQiqiCF
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) November 20, 2016
Conlan lost his patience with the amateur scene last year, when his famous anti-AIBA tirade followed a shock decision that eliminated him at the quarter-final stage of Rio 2016.
The 25-year-old will debut in Madison Square Garden on St. Patrick’s Day, when he will be joined by fellow former Team Ireland representative Paddy Barnes on the card.
Barnes made his professional debut last November in a fight that ended in rather bizarre circumstances as his opponent, Stefan Slavchev, was disqualified after a series of fouls.
Thanks @trboxing for confirming myself on @mickconlan11 bill on St Patrick's day! 🍀🍀 👍 pic.twitter.com/RzmkNlTePH
— Paddy Barnes OLY (@paddyb_ireland) October 19, 2016
The Irish action doesn’t end on March 17 as the very next night will likely see Katie Taylor take to the ring yet again as she’s scheduled to compete on the undercard of Gennady Golovin vs. Danny Jacobs on March 18 in New York City.
The Taylor fight has yet to be officially signed off on but promoter Eddie Hearn has suggested that it’s in the pipeline.
