Conlan joins Katie Taylor on top of the World

Michael Conlan has gone to No.1 in the newly updated AIBA World rankings.

The London 2012 bronze medallist moved into pole position on 2,150 points approaching the end of a sensational year in which he qualified for Rio 2016 through the World Series of Boxing (WSB) and claimed European and World Elite gold.

Conlan, Katie Taylor, who is ranked No.1 in the lightweight class, and John Joe Nevin, who has since switched codes, are the only Irish boxers to be – and to have been – ranked No.1 in the World in their respective weight categories.

There was further good news for current European Elite champion and World Elite silver medallist Joe Ward this morning also. The Irish southpaw and Rio 2016 Olympian has improved to No.3 in the world in the 81kg class.

Michael O’Reilly, the current European Games champion and World Elite bronze medallist, moves up four places to No. 3 in the middleweight class, while Brendan Irvine, a European Games silver medallist, has broken into the top ten. Irvine, nicknamed “Wee Rooster”, is perched at No. 7.

Taylor is at No. 1 in the 60kg class, an unbroken occupancy stretching back to her first AIBA World gold in New Delhi in 2006.

Seam McComb and Adam Nolan are ranked at No. 20 and No. 40 in the lightweight and welterweight classes.