Michael Conlan says he feels the pressure is off him and he wants to “go out to enjoy the last chapter of his career” as he prepares for his comeback fight against Asad Asif Khan at the Brighton Arena on Friday night.
The 33-year-old is boxing for the first time since losing to Jordan Gill at the SSE Arena in early December 2023.
That defeat, the third of the Belfast fighter’s career, left him considering his future in the sport but now he is ready to return to the ring.
“I’m 33 now and boxers don’t go much later now than 35 or 36. So this is my last run towards a belt,” said Conlan.
“I feel relieved of pressure. I’ll just go and enjoy myself now and have fun.”
Conlan’s seventh-round stoppage by Gill left his career hanging by a thread, coming as it did seven months after he was stopped in the fifth round by Luis Alberto Lopez in a world title fight at the same venue.
In May 2022, the Olympic bronze medallist had suffered his first loss in the professional ranks when he was knocked out by Leigh Wood in his first tilt at clinching a world title in Nottingham.
Conlan’s opponent for Friday’s eight-round contest, Indian boxer Khan, 31, made his pro bow back in 2011 and has lost five of his 25 fights to date.
The super featherweight bout will be on the undercard of the headline fight between Tyrone McKenna and Harlem Eubank for the vacant IBF intercontinental welterweight title.
“He [Khan] is going to be game, he’s going to come forward, he’s going to try and take my head off,” added Conlan.
“He’s been in with some good names already. He probably sees me as coming in on the back of two losses and is looking forward to keeping the upsets going.
“That’s what I need. I need someone who is going to try and take me out and give me opportunities to capitalise on.”
‘Making tweaks’
Conlan will have a new trainer for his 22nd professional fight but will not be altering his style radically.
“When I went to Grant Smith and we spoke first I said, ‘you’re not going to change me as a fighter now, I’ve been boxing a very long time’.
“He agreed but said I needed to tweak a few things and I agreed because I know I make mistakes.
“You’re going to see a more refined Michael Conlan, not anything completely different.”
Conlan hopes a win in Brighton can pave the way for him to fight in Belfast later this year and challenge for belts once again.
“I’m excited about it. It’s the right type of fight for me coming back. I’ve never fought anyone with a losing record and I wasn’t about to start now.
“I’ve had a lot of support, a lot of backing, people asking me when I’m fighting in Belfast again and we’re on that runway now. We’re going in the right direction, possibly look at a belt next time and then onto big things.
“I would like to do it [a homecoming fight in Belfast] around September or October time, maybe even December.”
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