The story going into the Featherweight bout between former two-time Olympian and world title challenger Michael Conlan and rising contender Jake Bateson was whether he could continue building momentum in his second fight since returning from a lengthy hiatus following three knockout losses in a relatively short timeframe. In previewing this bout, this observer stated that this fight was part of a rebuilding process for Conlan and that a win here would not necessarily indicate whether he would be back to a point where he was three years ago when he was ahead on the scorecards in his world title challenge of then WBA World Featherweight champion Leigh Wood going into the final round of a grueling and competitive fight and being literally minutes away from becoming world champion, before suffering a brutal knockout loss, which seemed to start a slide for him in the wrong direction as a fighter.
Despite yours truly saying prior to his encounter with Bateson that there would likely not be a conclusive answer as to whether Conlan, who had one win in his comeback coming into this bout, would be back to the point he was going into the Wood fight where frankly, he was simply caught in a fight he was winning, but a victory against Bateson would serve as a way to gauge how many more steps might be needed as part of a long-term rebuilding process, particularly if he performed well against a well skilled boxer in Bateson, who was likely to provide a test. The two fighters would meet before an enthusiastic crowd at the 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland.
What stood out almost immediately was Conlan’s timing and ability to use angles, traits of his skillset that have been known to frustrate opponents and signs of when he is at his best. In addition to his ability to use angles, Conlan routinely switched between the southpaw and orthodox stances, which in addition to attacking Bateson in spurts, kept Bateson from being able to find a consistent rhythm. Conlan was also able to keep the combat at a measured, tactical pace where he had the advantage.
In round three, Conlan scored a knockdown of Bateson with a short left hook from the southpaw stance that grazed the top of the head that caused Bateson to momentarily fall forward where his gloves touched the canvas resulting in the knockdown. This would be followed by a second knockdown in round four when Conlan connected with an overhand right that sent Bateson down awkwardly on the canvas. Bateson showed his mettle by getting up from the knockdown, but the combination of being on unsteady legs as well as an apparent injury to his right ankle resulted in the fight being stopped with eleven seconds remaining in the round.
The second straight win for Conlan on his comeback trail as well as his tenth knockout in his twenty-three bout professional career ultimately served as another building block towards the long-term goal of getting back into contention for another opportunity at a world championship. With the win, Conlan also won the vacant WBC International Featherweight championship, which ultimately means a chance to elevate himself into the world rankings further towards that goal.
What will be interesting now, however, will be whether Conlan will attempt to jump further up in the rankings in his next fight or potentially take a more conservative approach in potentially taking another fight or two to continue to build momentum so at least in theory from an old school perspective, he can be as ready as possible both physically and mentally before trying to get into a fight, which if he is successful could lead to another world title opportunity. Ultimately, he got a win here in this fight and did so impressively. Whether or not he or his team feel that performance is enough to attempt to move further up the ladder or if he needs a bit more time to keep building momentum remains to be seen. If he were to take another fight against someone on a similar level as Jack Bateson, a good fighter, but one that may not be considered a world rated contender, and turn in a similar clinical performance, it will be clear that Michael Conlan is ready to take the next step.
“And That's The Boxing Truth."
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