Michael Conlan says he is “ready to go again” and achieve his world title dream, but admits he considered retiring after his IBF featherweight title bout loss to Luis Alberto Lopez.
Conlan, 31, admits he doubted himself after the bout but decided to “roll the dice again” and continue his career.
“Yeah, to be honest, I was like ‘I’m done’,” he told BBC Sport NI.
“It’s not like ‘this is it for me’, it was more ‘I don’t know if I want to do this again or have to go through this again’ because that feeling of losing is one of the worst feelings in the world.
“That was the second time I’ve felt that in my professional career and it was very tough to take. I thought ‘do I really want to put myself through this again?’ and started to question myself, but after a while I got my focus again and felt I couldn’t end it like that.”
Conlan, who has won 18 of his 20 professional fights after a glittering amateur career, added: “What drew me back in was I looked at my goals and my goals have always been to become world champion. That’s what pulled me back.
“In the immediate aftermath I didn’t know if I had it in me to go again, but I realised soon after that I do so that’s what got me back.”
Conlan could make Belfast return in ‘early December’
Jamie Conlan, Michael’s older brother and manager, says the plan is for Michael to return to the ring before the end of the year.
“We are looking at December,” the former boxer said, speaking before Feile an Phobail at Falls Park on Friday, where local fighters Padraig McCrory and Sean McComb are among those in action.
“We’ve booked the Odyssey [SSE Arena] for early December. [We’re] changing a few things up at the minute and figuring things out but we’re all gunning for a return to Belfast in early December.”
Conlan’s devastating defeat by Mexico’s Lopez at the SSE Arena was the second time he has fallen short in a bid to become world champion, having also been beaten by Leigh Wood in March 2022.
But while Conlan’s brutal knockout to Englishman Wood came after leading going into the final round, the 2012 Olympic bronze medallist admits he simply “didn’t perform” against Lopez in May.
“I still stand by what I said in the aftermath that I didn’t perform. Something felt off and it showed in the performance, if I had have stuck to the gameplan which I had in my head, it would’ve been a different type of fight,” he admitted.
“I just did the opposite. It wasn’t thought out, the tactics weren’t followed and I paid the price, that’s just boxing.
“The Leigh Wood fight was different. I was ahead and everything went to plan until the end happened and there’s nothing you can do about that.
“I don’t know if this one was harder to take, but it was different. It made me question myself, but I soon got to grips with things and decided I’d roll the dice again.
“I can’t say [my belief] is unshaken because at the start you doubt yourself. Now the belief has come back and I’m ready to go again.”
