I don’t think i have ever seen a pro debut so eagerly anticipated as that of Michael Conlan as he took on Tim Ibarra over Six Rounds on this St Patricks Day bout  . Over 2000 Irish fans and press had made the trip across the pond to take in this spectacle , and Conlan did not disappoint.

From the first bell you could see Ibarra was an awkward costumer who had a slight reach advantage and was planning on using every inch of it to keep Conlan away , and for the first round, at least  it looked to be a decent game plan as Conlan was finding it hard to get in range . That being said Conlan took the first round easy as Ibarra didn’t throw anything worth talking about and as the round went on the irishman looked to be settling down .

There are not many boxers out there with a better amateur pedigree than Michael Conlan but the big question was, Can he bring it to the pros ?…. Well in the second round we got that answer . Conlan came out the second round with a lot more intent , you could see he was getting closer to Iberra and about half way through the round he he got his reward with a viscous bodyshot landing which seemed to take wind out Iberra. From this point Iberra looked well out his depth only throwing back in desperation rather than intent, and the pro Conlan fans who where packed into the Theatre at Madison Square Garden where loving it , they knew this fight didn’t have long left.

Conlan picked up where he left off in third ,really catching the wounded Iberra at will , and after two minutes of intense punishment to the body the referee had seen enough . You’ve got to give it to Micheal Conlan for this performance, with all the hype from fans,press and promoters the pressure was on and Conlan handled it with style …….impressive

Steven Donnell

@DJayBoxingBlog @Dinobhoy86