Talent and opportunity make hard for Michael Conlan to retire
Michael Conlan is chasing the dragon because he knows he has the ability to catch it by the tail surmises big brother Jamie Conlan.
The younger of the two boxing steeped brothers was considering following his older sibling into retirement late last year.
There was ‘a decision to be made’ after the Olympic medal winner lost to Jordan Gill, his third career defeat, in Belfast on December 2.Â
After a break from the sport, the Irish amateur great and now fight maker with Conlan Boxing, revealed he would ‘roll the dice’ one more time in the spring.
Jamie Conlan, who manages the decorated amateur’s career, found himself in a similar position after he failed to dethrone world champion Jerwin Ancajas in Belfast in 2017.Â
However, ‘The Mexican’ claims he was able to reach the hook and hang up his gloves a lot easier than his brother. The Conlan Boxing boss points out that walking away is made harder when you have the natural talent at the disposal of Ireland’s only ever male world amateur champion.
The former Commonwealth champion and blood and guts operator also points out the fact the two-time World title challenger remains a big-name draw and thus will get opportunities will also made the decision to exit stage left more difiicult.Â
“When I retired it was easy, but every boxer is different. If you come up close like Michael did (to a world title) you will always be chasing that dragon,” Jamie Conlan said.
“If you have the talent and commercial value that Michael has, it is always going to be difficult to walk away without achieving your dream. He was so close against Leigh Wood, and that still stings.
“For me it was easy. Our first baby arrived and I knew I wasn’t going to be world champion, so I thought ‘what the f*** am I going to continue for?’. That’s exactly how I felt.
“I never had the talent that Michael has, or the opportunities that he has had. And he knows what it takes to get to that level, and now he wants to go again.”
The London 2021 Olympian, who has eyed a late 2024 return, can also lean on the fact he believes he knows exactly why he lost at the SSE Arena last time out.
The 32-year-old doesn’t believe he was in the right frame of mind to fight.
“I look back on my last performance and it wasn’t even me in the ring. It was a terrible performance. I probably shouldn’t have been in the ring, there was a lot of sh*t going on in my life, in my family and it probably wasn’t the right time for that fight,” he said.
