By: Sean Crose
Michael Conlan suffered his second devastating loss in a world title fight this weekend when he was knocked out by Luis Lopez in his hometown of Belfast. After losing a terrific WBA featherweight title battle against Leigh Wood in 2022, Conlan hoped to make all right when he answered the opening bell to battle IBF featherweight champion Lopez in a scheduled 12 rounder at Belfast’s SSE Arena on Saturday. It was simply not to be.
Conlan landed well with jabs in the first while Lopez effectively worked the body. Conlan, however, was certainly the more aggressive of the two. The challenger continued to be aggressive in the second while the defending champion, who was the slower of the two men, landed the heavier blows. Conlan had strong moments in the third, but the patient stalking of Lopez in was telling. Indeed, Conlan was hurt in the final portions of the round. With that in mind, the gutsy challenger survived the chapter.
Still, Lopez continued his attack in the fourth, leading Conlan to start holding. Lopez, obviously the stronger of the two, was able to continue landing with power. In the fifth it all came to an end. A terrific Lopez’ uppercut sent Conlan to the mat. Sure enough, Conlan’s head hit the canvas as he went down. Conlan’s corner, not interested in seeing the referee count their fighter out, almost immediately threw in the towel.