Next up: Belfast
From Madison Square Garden in New York City Michael Conlan (7-0,5KO’s) dominated Ibon Larrinaga (10-3,2KO’s) in a Featherweight contest that was scheduled for eight rounds. Conlan made it look easy and did anything he wanted in the ring tonight.
Conlan came out using good movement, picking his shots and controlling the pace of the pace of the fight. Larrinaga seemed to go into survival mode by the second round as he didn’t seemed to eager to let his hands go.
The Irishman was putting smart pressure on Larrinaga slowly trying to break his opponent down. Larrinaga simply lacked the power to keep Conlan off him as he was methodically being broke down. Conlan landed a big right hand in the fourth round that hurt Larrinaga, who immediately held on and got hip tossed to the ground.
Larrinaga remained on his back foot all night using his movement and was not a bit interested in engaging his opponent. The biggest sign of aggression he showed was holding Conlan all night long. Conlan to his credit remained poised and didn’t force the action but put on constant pressure.
Conlan slowly broke Larrinaga down but was unable to stop him, winning a unanimous decision (80-72 3X) where he didn’t lose one round on any of the judges scorecards. It was simply a dominant performance as Conlan now heads home to Belfast where he will meet Adeilson Dos Santos on June 30.
By: Wilson Urena
