Michael Conlan outlines comeback plan and how he recovered from depression

Celtic fanatic and boxing star Michael Conlan has probably sang the line a thousand times - "At the end of a storm there's a golden sky". It's a famous quote from the Bhoys anthem 'You'll never walk alone'. The featherweight fighter is hoping for some light at the end of his own tunnel after going though 'the lowest point of his life'.

The West Belfast man is making his return to the ring as he bids for one last tilt at a world title shot after suffering from depression in recent months following back-to-back defeats in the ring. Conlan, who turns 33 in November, was stopped by Luis Alberto Lopez in a world title fight last year and seven months later, in December, he was convincingly beaten by Jordan Gill.

"It was tough," Conlan admits. "In my head I was going 'ah f***, that's it I'm finished, I can't do this f***ing s*** again'. "It's a tough old game and I give my life to the game. I don't cut no corners, I live the life and I put all the work in the world in, but sometimes things don't go the way that you want and on that last fight, I shouldn't have even been in the ring.

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"I only trained for six weeks for that one simply because of personal reasons, all personal stuff going on in my life so I probably shouldn't have took the fight."

He added: "My ego was kind of called into question so I said 'f*** it I'll do it' and I knew it was the wrong fight, it wasn't the right fight to take right after Lopez and especially with the kind of time period we had for preparation, I knew it wasn't the right one but you make the decisions, you take the risks and you live with the consequences.

"That's how I look at it now. That happened for a reason. I didn't know Jordan Gill was fighting for his life either. In hindsight you say I shouldn't have done this, I shouldn't have done that, but it is what it is.

"I've now spent the longest I've been away from boxing. The first few months, the first two months especially, I was actually quite down. I would go as far as saying I was depressed. For the first time in my life, I was properly feeling that way and I didn't know what I was going to do."

Both the Lopez and Gill losses came in Belfast and Conlan is keen to go on the road for his return as he eyes up a fight in America, where nine of his 21 professional bouts have taken place, although he has not fought in the States since 2019.

"Maybe November/ December time this year and at the latest St Patrick's Day next year," said Conlan of when he could fight again. "I've enjoyed the time away. Now I know I want to fight so it's not like I want to stay away from it . It's not like I'm living a party life or nothing. It's just having a break from boxing completely. I haven't thrown one punch, haven't hit one bag.

"I've done a lot of running, I trained for a marathon. I ran 2 hours and 55 minutes in the Manchester Marathon. The training for that was f***ing mental alone."

Running helped Conlan through the tough times and he paid tribute to the Belfast running club he trained with ahead of the Manchester Marathon last month.

"Just the community, there was no ego," explained the fighter. "People didn't look at you as Mick Conlan the boxer. You were just Mick the dick. They'd be saying 'you're trying to break three (hours) here, do you think you're crazy'?

"And then they all broke three and I was like I'll do it in my first marathon and they were laughing at me going 'no chance' and I ended up doing it so it was great. They're good people, the running club Roadrunners AC, fantastic people and I couldn't thank them enough.

"The training for that (to run a marathon in under three hours) is probably tougher than boxing training in a sense because you're up at five in the morning, running 20 miles in the pissing rain in the dark, but it was good. It really helped."

Boxing management and promoting through Conlan Boxing, which he runs with his brother Jamie, has kept the 32-year-old busy in recent months.

He also tries to get to Celtic games whenever he can and recently attended Brendan Rodgers' side's 2-1 win over Rangers, the victory which all but secured a third consecutive league title for the Hoops, and the boxer has also released his own beer brand.

Having spent the last few months travelling to the likes of Boston, Chicago and numerous places in England in his roles as a promoter and manager, as well as staging shows in Belfast, Conlan's focus will soon switch back to his own boxing.

"I know I still have the ability to prove what I want to do," stated the 2012 Olympic bronze medallist. "I know that there's so many intangibles that have played a part in the last two fights probably which were out of my control.

"So let's go back to it, let's set the record straight, do it right, make sure everything is done the correct way and we'll see how it goes. And if it doesn't go the way I want it to go then that will be it. I'm giving it one more roll of the dice and I believe I can still achieve what I have always set out to achieve and that is what I want to do."

As well as the Lopez and Gill losses, Conlan was knocked out by Leigh Wood in the final round of their WBA world featherweight title fight in 2022.

But he feels people have been quick to write him off and he will aim to silence his critics when he returns to action.

He said: "I'm 32, alright I've had three losses. One was a KO and the others were TKOs/ stoppages so it's not like I've been f***ing knocked out cold.

"People go 'devastating knockout', okay I get the Wood fight and that was down to fatigue more than anything.

"Let's be honest, the other two I've been on my feet, the fights have been stopped while I've still been standing. The world we live in now with social media, people are quick to throw s*** and quick to say you're done.

"If you look at the old timers, the likes of Roberto Duran, they lose, they come back, they lose, they lose, they come back. It's the world we live in, people want everything right now and if you're not doing it right now, you're done, you're s***, you're finished.

"If you can understand that and are not reading into what people are saying on social media, it's quite easy if you know what you want to do."

So how does the road to a world title fight look from here for Conlan?

"Because I've lost two on the trot, I deserve a type of comeback fight," he says. "Have that and then jump straight back into the mix with some of the boys who are on the verge (of world title fights), get in with them, get the job done there and then get a world title shot.

"That's how I see it. If it plays out a different way, it plays out a different way, but that's how I'd like it to go. Have a comeback fight, jump in right away after that with whoever, it doesn't matter, and roll the dice."

• Michael Conlan was speaking at the launch of his new beer - Le Grá. The one-of-a-kind golden brew is infused with real shamrocks for a touch of ancient Irish luck. Le Grá Premium Irish Lager is available across Ireland at retailers, bars, and pubs. For more information visit www.legrabeer.com

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