Michael Conlan has shot down talk fellow Belfast boxer Carl Frampton is on his hit-list, claiming a showdown with The Jackal would “not be right for the city”.
The unbeaten featherweight spoke out after easing to a stoppage win over Diego Alberto Ruiz at a packed Falls Park on Saturday night.
The Argentinian was dispatched with a peach of a body shot in the ninth round of the WBA and WBO Inter-Continental title clash. Bigger fights are on the radar, but Conlan responded sharply when told Top Rank CEO Bob Arum had talked up Tigers Bay-born Frampton (inset) as a possible opponent.
“I can put that to bed,” he said. “Carl and I are friends and it is just not right for us and it would not be right for the city. That is not happening.”
While IBF champ Josh Warrington and WBA king Leo Santa Cruz have been mentioned as targets, Conlan won’t be rushed into plotting his next move. “People want to know what is next, but there is no point thinking about that,” he said.
“I could sit here and say who is next and what is next, but I am not going to do that.
“I am going on holiday in the next few days. I don’t have to think of what is next.
“I know where I am and how good I am. So there is no point in me screaming and shouting right now.”
An estimated 10,000 fans flocked to Falls Park to sing their hearts out and Conlan, now unbeaten in 12 pro fights, said it was a night he will never forget.
“Once I arrived in the dressing room and heard the noise, I thought ‘I am home’,” he said.
“I enjoyed the ring walk, I savoured it and I sang on my way to the ring. Even in the ring I was singing and I loved it.
“As soon as I got in the ring I locked eyes with Ruiz and it was game time. I am sure you saw I had a steely focus from the first bell.
“It was the best sporting moment of my career and you have to savour nights like this.”
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