Celtic daft boxer Mick Conlan is edging closer to a world title fight after his majority points win over Romanian boxer Ionut Baluta tonight.
Baluta gave it a good go against the Belfast man and really came into the fight towards the end. Conlan’s quality ultimately shone through against that work rate over the 12 rounds.
Conlan was aiming for a knockout in the build-up to the fight but Baluta had never been stopped by an opponent heading into the York Hall bout. It was a cracking scrap for boxing fans.
The judges scored it 114-114, 115-114 and 117-112. The victory keeps the undefeated fighter on the road to an eventual world title fight at 122lbs.
Conlan is a well known Celtic fan. He’s previously appeared in club publication The Celtic View talking about his love for the club.
He told the official club website in 2019: “Walking out there in front of 10,000 plus in a park which I grew up, where I had many unpaid fights in the past, to ‘Grace’ was amazing. I knew how everybody would react, and then when ‘Let the People Sing’ kicked in, the whole place went buck mad.
“It’s very hard to explain how I felt walking out to that. If I’m honest, it was the best sporting experience of my whole life. Obviously, having kids is different because that’s really personal but in terms of my career that experience was undoubtedly the best ever.
“I’ve been a Celtic fan all my life. The songs that are sung in Celtic Park are close to my heart and close to every Celtic fan’s heart. The fact that I’m able to play them in a boxing atmosphere means a lot to me. You can see how attached people are to those songs and how they affect them emotionally.”
Last week he even appeared on fan podcast The Patriot Game to discuss tonight’s fight and the Bhoys.
Celtic daft Mick Conlan closing in on world title fight
I can’t wait to see where Conlan’s career goes from here. There’s every chance he could be handed a world title fight at the super-bantamweight level within the next 12 months, as reported by BBC Sport.
Conland said prior to tonight’s bout: “Whether it’s the next one or the one after, I believe it will be this year. There are loads of doors open to me at 122lbs.
“I don’t feel like I need to make a statement in any kind of way, but I just want to do it.
“My mandatory position after this fight will be solidified, so I’m not worried about how I do it. I want to go out and make a statement, hurt this guy and take him out.”
The broadcaster reports his most likely world title opponent is WBO super-bantamweight champion Stephen Fulton, from the USA.
In other news, Karamoko Dembele could be set for a Celtic appearance against Rangers.
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