The hoopla surrounding featherweight prospect Michael Conlan's professional debut on March 17 was like nothing the boxing world has seen in years.
The Irish Olympic star's first professional bout came on St. Patrick's Day at a sold-out Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City, and it had the feel of a major world title fight. Conlan's six-round bout against Tim Ibarra, who he knocked out in the third round, was the main event, and there was a large media contingent on hand, mainly because they were already in town for the Gennady Golovkin-Daniel Jacobs middleweight championship fight the next night in the Madison Square Garden main arena.
Top Rank promoted the Conlan fight like a big-time event. It got tremendous publicity, and when Conlan came to the ring, it was over the top. Bagpipers playing traditional Irish music led the way, the crowd was electric and UFC superstar Conor McGregor, Conlan's pal, walked with him.
When it finally came down to the fight, Conlan was a bit overwhelmed, and it showed in a performance that was a bit unfocused and ragged. Conlan is the first to admit that.
"It was everything I dreamed of and more. I always dreamed my debut would be big but didn't think it would be as big as it was. It blew me away," Conlan told ESPN in an interview this week. "I just wanted to take the guy out for the crowd. I should have taken my time. I got the knockout but I wanted it to be a perfect one.
"I didn't really think my performance was the best, but there was the added pressure of what was going on. I was too eager. I was way too eager. I was swinging, I wasn't taking my time."
Top Rank promoter Bob Arum, who is as bullish on Conlan's future as any of the young fighters he promotes, agreed that Conlan could have been better in his debut.
"He was overanxious," Arum said. "It was a big night for the kid. But I am looking for a good, solid performance against a decent guy and without the pressure that he faced in New York."
"I feel like this is my pro debut, my real pro debut. The first one was a great event, a great springboard but this one I will be able to showcase my skills and put on a dominant performance." Michael Conlan
Arum was talking about Conlan's second pro outing, which will be another scheduled six-rounder against Alfredo Chanez in the main event of Top Rank's "Solo Boxeo" card on Friday night (UniMas, 11 ET/PT) at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago.
The card will also feature two other televised bouts. Former junior welterweight world titleholder Mike Alvarado (36-4, 24 KOs), 36, of Denver, will return from an 11-month layoff to face Matthew Strode (24-4, 9 KOs), of 34, of Greensboro, North Carolina, in a 10-round bout. Also, junior welterweight up-and-comer Alex Saucedo (24-0, 15 KOs), 22, of Oklahoma City, who is trains with Gennady Golovkin in Abel Sanchez's camp, will face Wilberth Lopez (18-7, 13 KOs), 22, of Tucson, Arizona, in an eight-rounder.
With the pro debut out of the way, Conlan said he hopes to settle into his pro career and continue his trek up the ladder with a little less fanfare. Although Friday's card has gotten quite a bit of publicity also -- Conlan even met with Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel this week as part of the promotional activities -- it has not been nearly as intense as the March fight.
"I don't know if that scenario will ever come up again for a pro debut," Top Rank vice president Carl Moretti said. "You would have thought he was headlining a pay-per-view show with what we threw on him that week with the marketing and promotion we put behind it. I don't look for the next few fights to be like that. We have him doing several appearances this week but the hype isn't what it was like in New York, understandably. I just want to see him get in the ring and fight and worry about inside the ring instead of outside the ring like in New York where we threw a lot at him."
Conlan said he is pleased to simply focus on the fight this time.
"For this fight I am going to take my time. I am going to enjoy the boxing and use my skills," Conlan said. "I feel like this is my pro debut, my real pro debut. The first one was a great event, a great springboard but this one I will be able to showcase my skills and put on a dominant performance. It's definitely been less going on for this one and that's fine. The last one, I have never seen anything like it. It was like a world title fight, but that will help me the future when I am boxing for world titles.
"It was a great learning experience and something I'll keep with me forever. This one is more laid back, less hoopla and I am more focused on doing the job."
To that end, Conlan said he did not expect McGregor to show up for this fight.
"Nah, his wife and him just had a baby, so I don't think he'll be here," Conlan said.
"I'm sparring with world champions and title contenders. My sparring is harder than the fights." Michael Conlan
Chanez (4-4, 2 KOs), 27, of Mexico, has lost two fights in a row but has never been knocked out. Conlan said he's watched some video of him on YouTube but is not the least bit concerned about him. After all, Conlan, 25, who has relocated with his fiancée and 2-year-old daughter to from Belfast, Northern Ireland to Marina Del Rey, California, to train with Manny Robles at his gym in Carson, California, gets outstanding sparring against top fighters who are more experienced and talented than Chanez.
"I'm sparring with world champions and title contenders," Conlan said. "My sparring is harder than the fights."
During the early part of his camp Conlan sparred with two of Robles' top pupils, featherweight world titleholder Oscar Valdez and junior featherweight titlist Jessie Magdaleno, both of whom he has become friendly with. They were preparing for successful title defenses on the same April 22 card.
"You're learning every day in the gym. Working with fighters like Oscar and Jessie is something that is very valuable," Conlan said. "They are where I want to be. I learn off them, watch what they do, watch them train. It was fantastic to see how hard they train. To be around them is an honor and to spar them is a complete pleasure."
If all goes well for Conlan on Friday he will return for his next fight on the undercard of Manny Pacquiao's welterweight title defense against Jeff Horn on July 2 in Brisbane, Australia, where there is a large Irish population that includes many members of Conlan's father's side of the family who moved there about seven years ago.
"I can't wait. I'm probably more excited for that fight than I am for the fight on Friday. I probably shouldn't be saying that but it's going to be exciting," Conlan said with a laugh. "I never thought I'd box on a Pacquiao card. He was my man when I was a kid. He's special."
Conlan and his team hope he follows in those footsteps.
"I'm really, really happy with the way things are going, how Top Rank is handling things and how they want to put me on this world tour," said Conlan, who is also supposed to fight at home before the end of the year. "I'm just a kid from Belfast and very thankful for everything.
"The support here in the States has been fantastic. I'm getting more fans every day contacting me on social media, especially in Chicago. It's great to see all these people that just want to watch a kid from Belfast fight."