Michael Conlan marked his first professional fight in his native Belfast with a points win against Brazil’s Adeilson dos Santos.
Conlan, who won bronze at the London 2012 Olympics, cruised to a 79-73 win against the former world title challenger and takes his perfect professional record to 8-0.
After a thrilling homecoming entrance and emphatic ring-walks from both men, Conlan initially found Dos Santos (19-5) to be a tough opponent in the opening rounds of the super-featherweight contest.
The Northern-Irishman started the more aggressive fighter with the raucous crowd demanding an early knockout blow, but Dos Santos held firm.
Conlan’s chin was tested in the sixth round when Dos Santos landed a vigorous right uppercut which stunned his opponent.
Having only gone eight rounds once in his career, Colona was in inexperienced territory as the final bell approaches but showed resilience and kept chipping away at his opponent.
“It was daunting a bit because it was my first proper fight, and he forced the pace, but I’m happy with the performance,” Conlan said. “It’s still not the finished article. I’ve still got a lot to learn. I give it six out of 10; there were mistakes, but that’s all part of learning.”
Watching on at the SSE Arena in Belfast was WBO featherweight champion Carl Frampton who was impressed with what he saw. “I think it was a quality performance. I wasn’t in against a dud, but a former world title challenger,” Frampton said on BT Sport. “Mic won the fight comfortably, his shot selection was fantastic and I think he cruised.”
Frampton, 31, is preparing to defend his title at Windsor Park in a “dream” contest in August where Tyson Fury will feature on the undercard as he continues his boxing comeback.
