THE plan for Michael Conlan is to get back in the ring with Leigh Wood by the end of the year but first he has to get past two-time world title challenger and former Vasyl Lomachenko dance-partner Miguel Marriaga.
Conlan-Marriaga has been confirmed for the SSE Arena on August 6 as the 10-round headline act of a 12-fight card which will feature Tyrone McKenna, Padraig McCrory, Kurt Walker, Paddy Donovan and Galway’s Kieran Molloy. Jamie Conlan says his brother is “jumping straight back into the fire” against the seasoned Columbian who has more stoppage wins (26 on his 30-5 card) than Michael (16-1) has had fights.
“Marriaga is renowned for his knockout power, 26 of his wins have come by knockout and he’s been in with bigger, more high-profile, opponents than Michael in terms of Oscar Valdez and Lomachenko – genuine world champions,” he said.
“He went the distance with another big puncher in Nicholas Walters so it’ll be a great test for Michael coming back. It’s a statement of his intent going forward to be in nothing but big fights and this is the quickest route back to a world title shot.
“Marriaga has the name and recognition in the States and he is someone who will go right to the end and he’ll test Michael the whole way. We hope that everything that we learned in the defeat against Leigh Wood can be rectified against Marriaga.”
Marriaga has five losses on his record but the only man to stop him is Lomachenko. The Ukrainian pound-for-pound superstar bullied Marriaga into submission after seven rounds in LA but, although outclassed, Marriaga did showcase some slick defensive skills to go along with his power.
“He understands ring-generalship and position,” said Jamie.
“Walters and Valdez are massive punchers and he went the distance with both of them. He’s not just a marauding, come-forward South American, he’s someone who has the skills to get through fights with big-punchers and world class operators.
“He’s tricky and he’s someone who’s been in there and done it. He’s a wily veteran at this stage but every defeat he’s had has been against a world-level fighter.”
A regular bill-topper, Marriaga’s last appearance was a points loss against WBA interim featherweight champion Eduardo Ramirez in December. Conlan describes the Columbian as “a gatekeeper” in the featherweight division.
“The reason for this opponent is to practice and show what we’ve learned from the last week,” he said.
“Leigh Wood is someone who was able to punch hard and drag Michael into the deep water. Marriaga will be the exact same. We want to rectify the mistakes we made in the last fight and then Michael’s aim is to fight Wood again.
“We were unable to get a rematch done straight away so we’re fighting someone who has a similar style to Wood and we’ll bring that into the fight that really matters and that’s the world title fight. I just hope Leigh Wood still holds the title by the time that comes around.”
According to reports, Wood’s camp remains bogged down in negotiations with WBA ‘Super’ champion Leo Santa Cruz over the purse split for their proposed fight. Whether that fight happens or not, Jamie is confident that the relevant promoters are united in their ambition to make Wood-Conlan 2 a reality before the end of this year.
“Our plan is November/December for Wood,” he said.
“But first it’s Marriaga, we have to beat him and he will be Michael’s toughest fight so far because it’s his next fight. Marriaga has been in a lot of big fights and he won’t be daunted by having to come to Belfast so this is a tough night’s work for Michael.”
There are rumours of a major fights for Tyrone McKenna (chief support) and Padraig McCrory and Kurt Walker, Paddy Donovan and Galway’s Kieran Molloy are all set to feature on the undercard with six more match-ups still to be confirmed.
Michael Conlan revelled in the atmosphere of a packed Falls Park in the summer of 2019 and again last year but Jamie explained that the cost of building an arena to stage this year’s Feile fight night had rocketed and so the decision was taken to take the event to the SSE Arena, scene of some unforgettable fight nights involving Carl Frampton, Martin Rogan, Paul McCloskey and others.
“We’ll be back in the Park next year but with fuel increases and increased prices it was just impossible to do it this year,” he said.
“We tried every option but it didn’t make any business sense so we took the decision to go to the SSE Arena but we’ll be providing bus services to and from West Belfast to the SSE Arena all night so that getting over there is not too problematic.”
Tickets for Conlan-Marriaga will be go on sale on Friday morning.
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CARL Frampton believes a “shock” could be in store for in today’s rematch between his old adversary Nonito Donaire and ‘The Monster’ Naoya Inoue which is scheduled to begin around 12 noon.
Frampton defeated Donaire in 2018 and says it is remarkable that the ‘Filipino Flash’ remains at the top of the sport in his 40th year. Inoue carries awesome power but Frampton is backing Donaire to take the Japanese star’s best shots and retaliate in a fight that could send shockwaves through the sport on June 7.
“Inoue is a great fighter and one of the keys for Nonito is to stay with him and to be able to take a bit of punishment,” Frampton said.
“Inoue has got serious power but Donaire has got a good chin and he has the ability to take shots. I would not be surprised if there was a shock on the cards in Japan. From the first fight, if anyone is going to have learnt and made the adjustments, then it’s Nonito. He’s been around this game a long, long time.”
The first contest in November 2019 went down as the Fight of the Year after Inoue won a dramatic battle over 12 rounds but Donaire has talked with confidence throughout the build-up to their rematch and Frampton is predicting another classic contest.
“It’s unbelievable that he is still fighting at the very highest level at 39-years-old,” he said.
“He’s the Benjamin Button of boxing. It feels disrespectful to say Nonito is getting better with age, because he’s been a great fighter for a long time, but he has been able to maintain world class quality for a long time. People were saying he was too old ahead of the first fight with Inoue in 2019 but I was telling them Nonito would give Inoue a fight and that it would be close.”
