Goldfinger: AIBA ‘f*ck you’ to net Mick Conlan a fortune

It was announced last night that Mick Conlan is to turn pro under American promotional behemoth Top Rank.

A fittingly large outfit to complement the massive talent of the Belfast man, and it looks as though he has also secured a huge signing-on fee.

Matthew Macklin, who will manage the career of Conlan, confirmed that the 24 year old has netted “by far” the biggest signing-on fee in Irish boxing history.

This has no doubt been partly due to Conlan’s post-fight outrage following his controversial loss to Vladimir Nikitin at the recent Rio Olympics. Following his baffling defeat in the bantamweight quarter finals, the Irishman gave a middle finger salute to the AIBA judges and branded the organisation “f*cking cheats” in his post-fight interview with RTÉ.

While Conlan’s talent is undeniable, his unjust loss and subsequent calling out of the AIBA is seemingly the angle which Top Rank are, at least initially, pushing.

Conlan has no regrets over his post-fight actions that afternoon in Brazil, although he feels his language may have been slightly excessive. In fact it is much the opposite, Conlan’s impassioned and raw actions have helped serve to make him a fortune.

As the old saying goes: Every cloud has a silver lining.