Conlan with the belt. Presseye / Peter Morrison/INPHO
Presseye / Peter Morrison/INPHO / Peter Morrison/INPHO
JAMIE CONLAN TOOK another step closer to a world title fight with a split decision win at the Waterfront in Belfast tonight.
Conlan, who is the older brother of Irish boxing star Michael, was handed top billing to face Yader Cardoza of Nicaragua (22-10-1, 6 KOs) for the vacant WBC Silver International super-featherweight belt.
And the 30-year-old prevailed to keep his unbeaten record intact (now 19-0), but he did it the hard way.
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Conlan has a reputation for getting dragged into wars and this was no exception, as the two fighters were left bloodied and bruised after slugging it out for 12 rounds.
Despite starting strongly, he was knocked down in the eighth but recovered to edge out Cardoza — the judges scoring it 112-115, 114-113, 115-113.
“This is breakfast, lunch and dinner here. I could do this all week… I don’t want to do it all week though! The crowd were brilliant and the rallied behind me when I needed them.”
Blood pours down his face. Presseye / Peter Morrison/INPHO
Presseye / Peter Morrison/INPHO / Peter Morrison/INPHO
Having trained with his younger sibling and Paddy Barnes in Los Angeles for the fight, he will now travel to watch Michael’s professional debut at Madison Square Garden on St Patrick’s Day, and joked:
It’s f***ing snowing in New York and I’m going to be walking around wearing sunglasses like a d***head!”
Barnes, Phil Sutcliffe Jnr, James Tennyson, Tyrone McKenna, Steven Ward, Con Sheehan and Marco McCullough also had wins tonight.
Unbeaten Jamie Conlan wins WBC International super-flyweight title with gutsy performance
JAMIE CONLAN TOOK another step closer to a world title fight with a split decision win at the Waterfront in Belfast tonight.
Conlan, who is the older brother of Irish boxing star Michael, was handed top billing to face Yader Cardoza of Nicaragua (22-10-1, 6 KOs) for the vacant WBC Silver International super-featherweight belt.
And the 30-year-old prevailed to keep his unbeaten record intact (now 19-0), but he did it the hard way.
Conlan has a reputation for getting dragged into wars and this was no exception, as the two fighters were left bloodied and bruised after slugging it out for 12 rounds.
Despite starting strongly, he was knocked down in the eighth but recovered to edge out Cardoza — the judges scoring it 112-115, 114-113, 115-113.
“He caught me high on the head so I had to ride the storm,” Conlan told Box Nation.
“This is breakfast, lunch and dinner here. I could do this all week… I don’t want to do it all week though! The crowd were brilliant and the rallied behind me when I needed them.”
Having trained with his younger sibling and Paddy Barnes in Los Angeles for the fight, he will now travel to watch Michael’s professional debut at Madison Square Garden on St Patrick’s Day, and joked:
Barnes, Phil Sutcliffe Jnr, James Tennyson, Tyrone McKenna, Steven Ward, Con Sheehan and Marco McCullough also had wins tonight.
Watch Conlan’s fight in full below:
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Belfast Boxing Jamie Conlan The Mexican thrilling Title Warrior Waterfront Hall WBC International super-flyweight Yader Cardoza