Photograph: Russell Pritchard
Belfast boxer Jamie Conlan has admitted that winning the WBO European super-flyweight belt has increased his motivation and made him eager for more title success. After stopping Belgium’s Benjamin Smoes in seven rounds in his last contest Jamie has been letting the cut heal that he sustained midway through that bout. The 27-year-old was suitably fixed-up in time to start sparring again as he prepares for the highly anticipated ‘Waterfront Brawl’ show on Friday, June 20.
“Its a different feeling coming in with a belt, it makes me hungry for more. We’ve got a great date and venue and I feel great. This is why we signed with Barry because we wanted regular fights. We knew after the cut that it wouldn’t be ready to fight in May so June 20 was a perfect date,” said Conlan.
Jamie could soon be in line for an overdue crack at the British or Commonwealth titles at his weight. Hopefully the holder of both belts, Paul Butler, who is moving up in weight to fight Stuart Hall for the IBF bantamweight title on June 7, will drop the straps and let the next available contenders duke it out for domestic honours. With the likes of Louis Norman and Anthony Nelson on Cyclone Promotion’s radar it is hoped that a suitable dance partner can be found for Conlan.
“Kal Yafai is a talented kid but I believe Conlan can beat him and he can beat all of these guys,” buzzed Cyclone supremo Barry McGuigan.
“We are holding back a little bit because we have a few things up our sleeve. We want to get our fighters home advantage in this fight city and four months in between shows is enough. We also want to go America and take the lads out with us to fight if we can make it happen.”
