Mick Conlan’s world title dreams were cruelly set back in Belfast recently, and all eyes are on what he decides to do next. He spoke to Boxing Social about the loss, the learning, and something entirely different – lager.
The 31-year-old bounced back from defeat in 2022’s fight of the year against Leigh Wood with two impressive victories, enough to see him in with Luis Alberto Lopez – the recently crowned IBF World Featherweight Champion.
Conlan’s headliners have had the atmosphere of title fights for some time now, with his home crowd’s roar something for young boxers to aspire to. On this night though, even that couldn’t get him going.
He straight-up fought with the Mexican, opting against the elusive movement and unpredictable shots he’s known for.
Heartbreak in Belfast was confirmed in the fifth, with Adam Booth throwing in the towel after Lopez dropped Conlan with an uppercut. It’s a moment, he told Boxing Social, he’s not racing to see.
No I haven’t watched it back, and I won’t bother either. There’s nothing I believe I can take from it. I didn’t turn up in that fight – it wasn’t me and it wasn’t the game plan. Preparation was fantastic. I just felt off warming up, but I didn’t say anything. It’s a macho sport as it is, you can’t go in and say ‘here, I don’t feel right’ – especially before a world title shot. I was thinking negative things instead of focusing on the plan. It wasn’t fear, it was more passive.
And the result of that was I got in there, started having a fight and paid the price by losing how I did. It wasn’t a bad knockout. I got dropped and the towel came in before I got up – and that was the right decision from Adam, he told me I was getting hit too much.
The way I’ll learn from it is we’ll speak to sports psychologists, and we’ll delve into what happened and why.
It’s a refreshing take in a boxing landscape where competitors aren’t given room to have off-nights, and branded ‘finished’ when they do. Conlan is dealing with defeat in the right way – taking nothing away from Lopez, who is a tricky and punishing operator, and providing no excuse other than he couldn’t get it right on the night.
He believes his performance highlights the cruelties of a sport in which fighters are forced to face their misgivings for months after the fact.
I don’t know what it was. There was something up. On the biggest night, I didn’t turn up. In most sports when you have an off day you’ve got the rest of the team to pick you up, and you can go again next week. You can right that wrong straightaway. Boxing is one chance. If you have an off-night, the price is heavy. It’s a cruel sport.
A heavy price indeed. Conlan’s raw thoughts in the aftermath were geared towards hanging up the gloves, leaving behind a stellar amateur career and an 18-2 pro record.
It wasn’t long until his mind changed.
It took me about five days to realise that I’m going to fight on. I went on holiday and not long in I was thinking ‘f**k this stuff, I’ve got to get back training.’
Once I had my head screwed on it was like okay, we’re going to do this again, but it’s the last roll of the dice. One last run at it. I believe I still have the ability to – none of that has disappeared – but we need to do it right.
Retirement being ruled out is the only solid part of Mick’s plan so far. He knows that the rest will start to form when his hunger returns.
I haven’t made any decision where, what or when, but we’re probably looking November, December time. Right now, I’ll take a bit of time and enjoy stuff away from the sport before having that want to go hard again, push myself to the limit where not every single person goes to in life. There’s only so many training camps you can do in your career.
In the meantime, he’ll enjoy the sport not as a fighter or a fan, but as a promoter. He runs Conlan Boxing with his brother Jamie, and they have big ideas about where it’s heading.
100% it’s planning for the future. It was in 2020 we started it and the idea was having something to leave to. Something we can be doing after competing.
It was a big risk, and cost an awful lot of money at the start. It’s not cheap and it was a learning curve – we did outdoor shows at Falls Park straightaway and you quickly realise all that’s required. But it’s gone from strength to strength, and we’re going back to the Park this year with Pody McCrory, the Cinderella man – a special guy.
We want to get ourselves in the position of being one of the biggest promoters in the UK. We’re signing more UK fighters and starting to make moves.
For Mick, watching his stable in the ring is ‘a different sort of buzz’ – one he admits is almost tougher to deal with than fighting himself.
I get nervous for the fighters when it’s out of my control. When it’s Kurt Walker – I manage him – it’s hard for me. It’s a different sort of buzz.
The big ones I’m always the main event, and if not I’m in the middle of a training camp, but it won’t be long till I can sit back and watch, and think ‘okay, this is how we do it. I like it.’
Until that day I’ve got to give credit to Jamie – the pressures and planning he handles as well as his brother fighting. He’s done a fantastic job.
Conlan’s knowledge and love for the sport can clearly continue well into retirement. But what of other ventures if he wants to get away from it all? Thankfully, outside of the boxing there’s beer.
Le Grá Irish Lager. My friend’s been building it for about three years, and he came to me and said ‘what do you think?’ I said ‘I’m all in, let’s do it.’
It launched in Ibiza in June and it’s had an incredible reception. We’re bringing it home in the next three to four weeks – back to Ireland and the UK. The long-term goal is to break America and there will be a huge market there for it.
Talking to him, it’s clear that Mick hasn’t attached his name to the project for nothing. There’s almost the same passion in his voice for the lager as there is for fighting. It’s ’boutique-y’, he says, and off the record he takes a body shot at some of the bigger breweries and their processes.
It’s brewed with shamrocks, won lager of the year twice in a row. Not filtered, not pasteurised, very homegrown. Le Grá means ‘with love’ in Irish – when you get your case sent up to Glasgow you’ll say ‘Ó Scotland Le Grá’ which means ‘From Scotland with love.’
Boxing’s a short game, and I’m kind of at the back end. I have to have pathways I’m going to go down when it’s over, and this is one. At least I won’t have to spend much money on beer.
There’s little doubt that he will have one last crack at championship glory. It’s something his family and fans will back him for completely.
This eye he has on the future doesn’t speak to his current dedication to the sport, but to a realistic view of how long it can last. Too many fighters from the past have been left without a retirement plan, either through their own doing or, more heinously, their promoter’s. That won’t happen here.
For now, Mick Conlan fights on until the day that he can look back on boxing, hopefully le grá.