Five months after being knocked out of the ring, Michael Conlan returned to the sport he loves, easily outpointing Miguel Marriaga over 10-rounds at The SSE Arena in Belfast.
Scores were 99-88, 99-88, and 99-89 for Conlan.
In round one, Conlan,30, bounced and jabbed. Marriaga, the stronger puncher, tried to time Conlan. The 30-year-old Conlan scored with a right and left. Conlan touched Marriaga with a long-left hand to the chin in round two.
Marriaga still hadn’t laid a glove on Conlan.
Conlan flashed his hands more consistently in round three. Marriaga looked tight. He finally scored with a counter-left hook. Conlan (17-1, 8 KOs) jabbed and moved. Fighting from the southpaw stance, he landed rights and lefts.
In round four, Marriaga (30-6, 25 KOs) fired a whipping right that missed the target. He tried the body. Conlan cuffed Marriaga with a left and followed with combinations.
Conlan continued to outbox Marriaga,35, in rounds five and six. His jab scored several times – along with a left to the belly. Marriaga scored with a lounging left, but it was all Conlan. A sneaky right floored Marriaga. He got up quickly with a disgusted look on his face.
An annoyed Marriaga needed to up the ante. He’d lost every round. Conlan said hello by clunking him with check hooks. A combination floored Marriaga for a second time. Marriaga looked off balance, and the ring was slippery.
Would Conlan go for the knockout? He popped his jab and waited. Marriaga was looking for a place to fire his right, but a straight blow sent a slipping Marriaga to the canvas for the third time.
In the 10th and final round, Marraiga finally came out firing – backing Conlan into the ropes. Conlan had been knocked out in his last fight when he was on the ropes. Marriaga was trying to repeat history – landing a couple of head shots. Conlan took them and punched back. The danger was over.
“This was very important, very important,” said Conlan. “I had to get rid of a lot of demons tonight,” Conlan said.
