Michael Conlan is on the verge of fighting for global honors.
The featherweight was on the wrong end of a fight of the year contender last year against Leigh Wood when the pair boxed for the WBA ‘regular’ crown at the weight.
But it seems Conlan is just a few dotted ‘i’s and crossed ’t’s away from challenging for another belt.
Luis Alberto Lopez, the IBF champion who recently outpointed Josh Warrington of England to take the crown in Leeds last December, is the guy that Conlan and his team have their eyes on.
And Boxing Scene understands that May 27 at the SSE Arena in Belfast will be revealed as the date and venue for the showdown, once everything is signed.
Jamie Conlan, the brother of Michael who is now a manager and was a world title challenger when he boxed, mentioned that talks had been “encouraging” when speaking to Belfast Live about the former Olympian’s future plans.
“It is just about small things that need to be ironed out,” Conlan, who challenged then-champion Jerwin Ancajas of the Philippines for the IBF title at super-flyweight back in November 2017, said. “Lopez is where our thoughts are and what our preparations are going into
“He is very, very good. His punch output is high and he hits hard enough to hurt you. It is a tough fight but one I am very confident Michael will win.
“The talks have been encouraging so far and everything is moving in the right direction.
Since losing to Leigh Wood back in March 2022, the 31-year-old Ulsterman has had a 10-round unanimous decision win over Miguel Marriaga, at the same venue as where he hopes to face the Mexican (27-2, 15 KOs) later this year, as well as a first-round demolition stoppage win against former European champion Karim Guerfi of France on the same night as the aforementioned showdown between Warrington and Lopez at the First Direct Arena.