Michael Conlan - The Last Dance

It’s always a pleasure to talk boxing with today’s guest, Mick Conlan - and the response we get everytime we have him on, shows that listeners relish these appearances as well. There’s so much to talk about in Irish boxing. We’ve recently experienced utter tragedy with the untimely passing of Galway warrior John Cooney following a battle in Belfast, the first fatality in an Irish ring for nearly 60 years. That, and the death of jockey Michael O’Sullivan, is another reminder of the commitment these sportsmen and women give to their craft. From daily battles with the scales, to performing in high-pressure situations where one wrong move can result in catastrophe, boxers and jockeys have much in common and their willingness to sacrifice for our entertainment must never be overlooked. Yet racing goes on, Cheltenham is coming, and boxing continues apace as well, and will do as long as men and women are called to the ring. Today’s guest knows all about that call. After stepping away for all of 2024, he returns on March 7 in Brighton with a new training and promotional team behind him. The featherweight talks about the Last Dance, why he’ll be watching the Eubank-McKenna main event through his fingers, the dirty boxing business, going his own way by managing himself and his new coach, Grant Smith, who in 2006 was hit by a 56-tonne tram going 28mph – and lived to tell the tale. Conlan also discusses his fighters Dean Walsh (who’s in action in Mick’s new home from home of Sheffield on March 1) and Kevin Cronin (who’s taking on Emmet Brennan in Mick’s old stomping ground, Madison Square Garden, a fortnight later) as well as those he's no longer managing, like Lewis Crocker and Pierce O'Leary (who both have huge outings in the pipeline, Crocker v Paddy Donovan on March 1 and Big Bang with a potential Dublin homecoming in April). Plus we couldn’t go without talking about two upcoming world title fights for Irishmen, involving two of his past opponents – TJ Doheny v Nick Ball on March 15 and Anto Cacace v Leigh Wood on May 10.

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