Conlan delivers on KO promise- Barnes wins agains

London 2012 bronze medallists Paddy Barnes and Michael Conlan helped Italia Thunder to their first win of the season at the expense of the Puerto Rico Hurricanes in the World Series of Boxing (WSB) in Palermo, Italy tonight.

Barnes beat Anthony Ortiz in the light-fly class and Conlan followed that up with an inside the distance victory over Garibaldy Gomez at the Fiera Del Mediterraneo venue.

Conlan’s win fired the Italian side into an unassailable 3-0 lead as Endri Spahiu received a walkover over Michael Narvaez in the five-bout Group B match.

Barnes now improves to two wins from two and Conlan returns to victorious ways after narrowly losing out in his previous WSB five-rounder in Azerbaijan earlier this month.

Barnes dropped the first round 10-9 across the board to Ortiz tonight, but won the second on a split before claiming all of the final three frames unanimously to score a 48-47.49-46,49-46 win.

Conlan TKO’d Gomez 54 seconds into the third. The St John Bosco BC ace was 20-17 up on all three cards when the Puerto Rican bantam was taken into protective custody by the ref.

John Conlan, father to Michael, and Italia Thunder coaching staff were working the Irish duo’s corners corner in Palermo this evening. Click here for results.

“Two great wins for the guys. Paddy lost the first round, but he came back and broke his heart, as Paddy does, said John Conlan.

“Michael gave an exhibition against a guy who won his first WSB on a stoppage. Michael forced him into two standing counts in the second.”