Connor Coyle set for Vegas chance after impressing Roy Jones Jr and Dana White

Connor Coyle [9(3)-0] finally made his return to the ring on Saturday night and did so with a step-up that has caused some waves in America.

Having not fought since the summer due to contracting Lyme Arthritis, Coyle’s progression was stunted but the Derry middleweight made a big jump in Florida at the weekend.

The Foylesider topped a Roy Jones Jr-promoted card at the St Petersburg Coliseum and scored a dominant points win over Travis Scott in the eight-round main event.

Dropping the American twice early, Coyle won a wide decision and the performance impressed some big players in the fight game.

The 28-year-old revealed to Irish-Boxing.com that his showing “caught the eyes of Roy Jones Jr and Dana White, who really like what they saw.”

“Dana would like to talk after March 1st, so something could possibly come from that.”

“We think the next one will be April 25th in Vegas,” he added referring to a Thursday night Roy Jones Jr card at the Sam’s Town Casino in Sin City.

Facing a wily, tricky veteran, a win in such a one-sided manner was not expected – especially considering he took the step-up off the back of a long lay-off.

Coyle described how “the fight went very well, we planned on staying composed and calm, working the basics. We knew he had a lot of experience so we didn’t want to rush anything.”

“He was very awkward to hit and, looking back on the fight, there was obviously different things I could have done to land more punches but, being off for 8 month, I think I did extremely well considering everything.”

Coyle plams to build on the win quickly and will be back training in Derry soon before heading to Florida to round off camp with coach Jim McLoughlin.

‘The Kid’ outlined how “I’m back to the gym on Monday with Cahir Duffy again to prepare for my next one. I’m enjoying some downtime this week.”

“I’m grateful for everyone’s support who tuned in on UFC Fight Pass, I’d like to take the time to say thank you all. I’m also thankful for everyone who came to the fights to support and to all my sponsors.