The boxer Michael Conlan has been welcomed back home with an event at Belfast’s City Hall.
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“I m a world champion!”
“I’m a world champion so there’s not much else you can say”, said Conlan after the win.
That is not to diminish the prize on offer for Michael O’Reilly, who can claim an Olympic spot (more on that below), but Belfast bantamweight Michael Conlan is now just nine minutes of action away from becoming the first Irishman ever to claim gold at a senior World Championship.
Curiously, even the final round was scored to Conlan by two of the judges, despite the knockdown, although it was a deserved win as the Belfast native managed to brawl his way to victory having been forced to abandon his usual slick style due to the relentless aggression of Akhmadaliev. “I am a bit speechless”, Conlan said afterward.
“The Irish crowd, I have never seen anything like in my life”. He hit me sweet on the chin and it was the best punch I have ever been hit with. I would like to thank my coaches and my family and everyone for the tremendous support here all week, the supporters were fantastic.
Also on Wednesday, a new star of Cuban boxing was born when the baby-faced Joahnys Argilagos took gold, aged just 18.
And Conlan is out to add a World gold to the European gold he won earlier this year and he says he is now looking forward to the final.
Argilagos said afterward that he had “prepared well” for the tournament and wanted more medals.
O’Reilly was on the wrong side of a few questionable scoring in the first two rounds of his bout. “This is a huge opportunity for me and it would be a great confidence boost for next year’s Olympic Games in Rio”, added Conlan.
However, the judges decided the title was still his.
However, Erislandy Savon missed out at heavyweight (91kg), losing somewhat surprisingly to Russia’s Evgeny Tishchenko.
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Russian Federation also won gold at light-welterweight (64kg) with Vitaly Dunaytsev beating Uzbekistan s Fazliddin Gaibnazarov. (AP Photo/Osama Faisal) Murodjon Akhmadaliev of Uzbekistan, in red, fights Michael Conlan of Ireland, during the Bantam weight final of the AIBA World Boxing Championships in Doha, Qatar, Wednesday, October 14, 2015.
