Mick Conlan vs Jack Bateson – Conlan returns to Dublin

There’s a big night of Irish boxing coming up in an explosive start to September. It’s Mick Conlan vs Jack Bateson from Dublin’s 3Arena on Friday 5^th September, and boxing fans will see the sparks fly as the fighters go head-to-head to try to get their hands on the currently vacant WBC International featherweight title.

Belfast boxer Conlan makes his way back to the ring on the next step of his comeback campaign. This fight is another important stepping stone along that road, which he hopes will take him to a third world title shot. The sellout crowd will be heavily in favour of the Irish hero, who fights in Dublin for the first time as a pro.

Ready to see if Conlan can maintain his future title shot on a fantastic night of boxing? Find out more at Tonybet!

Colan’s comeback

After more than 12 months away from boxing, Belfast featherweight Michael Conlan announced in January that he was back on the campaign trail. The long break came after defeats in previous world title shots against Leigh Wood and Luis Alberto Lopez in 2022 and 2023, respectively.

However, it was a damaging defeat on top of those heartbreaking chances at winning a world title that really halted Conlan’s career. Conlan went up against Jordan Gill in December 2023 for the vacant WBA International super-featherweight title. The hype was high, and Conlan had a partisan crowd behind him at the SSE Arena in Belfast, but he was knocked out in the seventh round.

It looked for a while after this that his career may be over, because of those missed chances at earning a belt. However, Conlan delighted fans by announcing that he was coming back, solely for the reason of finally becoming a world champion, stating: 

“[Winning a world title] is the only reason I’m still boxing, I still want to be a world champion, and I still believe I have the ability to go and do that.” – Mick Conlan

A winning return

Conlan made his long-awaited return against Indian fighter Asad Asif Khan in Brighton in early March. That was 15 months after the defeat by Gill, and it was a comfortable points victory recorded by the Irishman.

The former Olympic bronze medallist really couldn’t afford to lose that fight after back-to-back defeats, but despite being a bit rusty, he got the job done, without Khan hurting him. Notably for the fight, there was a new man in Conlan’s corner, as he was under the guidance of Grant Smith for the first time in a bout.

A new coach

Ahead of that comeback fight against Khan, the fighter announced that he was teaming up with Sheffield’s Grant Smith moving forward. After looking at a few options, Conlan settled on Smith, as he felt that he was the right one to help him move forward in his comeback.

Smith is also working with high-quality fighters such as Charlie Edwards, Sunny Edwards, Dalton Smith and Chantelle Cameron at the Steel City Gym. Conlan stated that being surrounded by peers like that will help him excel.

The next step

The next step for Conlan is going up against Leeds fighter Jack Bateson on 5^th September. This is after a bit of rescheduling for Conlan’s comeback, because it was expected that he was going to fight European champion Cristobal Lorente, but the Spaniard instead opted for a bout against Ruben Gil. 

“I am truly honoured to be fighting in Dublin, for the first time in my professional career.” – Michael Conlan

Conlan vs Bateson is the main event on a night that features 10 fights in total, and there is a host of Irish fighters to keep an eye out for in Dublin. There are some good fights on the undercard, including the high-profile return of the Smith-trained Charlie Edwards as he tackles Mexico’s Salvador Juárez for the WBC International Super Flyweight title, and unbeaten rising Irish star Senan Kelly will take on England’s Ben Marksby, who is also undefeated.

Full Mick Conlan vs Jack Bateson card

1. Mick Conlan vs Jack Bateson
2. Charlie Edwards vs Salvador Juarez
3. Ben Marksby vs Senan Kelly
4. Dan Toward v Khalid Ennachat
5. Glenn Byrne vs Charly Lopez
6. Dean Walsh vs Jamil Elo
7. Kieran Molloy vs Nourdeen Toure
8. Kevin Cronin vs Grant Dennis
9. Paul Loonam vs Jake Pollard
10. Cain Lewis vs Erik Lopez 

* Bold denotes an Irish fighter

Conlan’s career and record

Conlan’s victory over Khan in March took him to a 19-3 record from his 22 professional fights. His first-ever professional fight was in 2017 at the famous Madison Square Garden in New York, where he scored a TKO over Tim Ibarra.

Conlan rose through the ranks from there, winning his first 16 fights, including taking the vacant WBA interim featherweight title in August 2021. That victory set him up for the WBA featherweight title against Leigh Wood the following year, but Conlan was stopped in the final round of that fight. 

Of his 19 career wins, the Belfast boxer has won 10 via a knockout. All three of his pro career losses have been by a TKO.

Conlan’s last five fights

Can Jack Bateson cause an upset in Dublin?

Standing in Conlan’s way is England’s Jack Bateson, who should present a much tougher opponent for Conlan than Khan did earlier this year. Bateson returns to the ring after almost nine months away, following a technical draw against Danny Quartermaine, who was cut after a clash of heads.

That was a disappointing end to the fight, which was for the IBF European and WBO European super-featherweight titles. It moved Bateson’s boxing record to an impressive 20-1-1, and following the scrubbing of the Quartermaine result, Bateson is on a three-fight winning streak at the moment.

He is a fighter with a strong amateur and professional record, and he is not likely to be a pushover for Conlan as he brings his Yorkshire grit to Belfast. Bateson usually fights at super featherweight, so he is coming down a division for this contest and looking to make an impression there in the biggest way.

Victory in Dublin would also open a path to a title shot at the weight by claiming the vacant WBC International title against an established fighter with something to prove.

Bateson’s last five fights

Why Irish fans will be looking ahead

Conlan is hugely popular with Irish fight fans, and given that this is his first time in Dublin as a professional, the roof is probably going to come off the 3Arena. The venue will be rocking when he starts his ring walk, and any flurry of action from the seasoned pro is going to be met with voluminous cheers.

That’s going to make it a very difficult away night for Bateson, who will have to fight the atmosphere as well as a very tough contender in the ring. However, Bateson poses a threat to Conlan’s future title ambitions.

There’s essentially no room for error by Conlan from here. It’s a bold move to come back after so many blows to his ambitions of reaching the top, but the fact that he is back speaks volumes about his character.

And even if he wins this, there is still a long way to go for a title shot. This path is also one fraught with danger and a fair degree of caution, because another setback or loss at any point will bring the comeback house of cards tumbling down.

However, what Conlan has on his side, and something that will be evident in Dublin in September, is popularity. He can still draw big crowds, and looking ahead, if he does get past Bateson, he will probably be looking for a shot against an even higher-quality opponent early next year before any thought of facing any of the current featherweight champions comes onto the radar.

Tale of the tape

Our expert predictions

Conlan, with firm Irish support, would benefit hugely from a full 10 rounds in the ring, and therefore, the Irishman to win it by a point could have some appeal. Conlan is the 1.67 outright favourite to win the bout, but the element of caution that he needs to have, because of treading a very narrow path to the top, means that he will likely be defensive and watchful, using his experience to keep Bateson at bay.

Bateson, in contrast, is fighting away from home, and is the odds-against underdog, at 2.5 – this could make him dangerous because, from that perspective, he has less to lose. Bateson, though, is coming down a weight division, so some of his punching power may be negated, and this has the look of a fight that could go, or at least go close to, the distance. 

It’s going to be a goosebumps kind of night in Dublin on 5^th September. Will Conlan get the job done to pursue his title opportunity? To keep up with the latest boxing odds ahead of the highly anticipated bout, you may want to check out the range of markets that Tonybet has, from the main fight outright odds to the method of victory and round totals, as well as some great live odds during the fight itself.

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