2-time Olympic boxer Michael Conlan says time to 'walk away' after loss to Brockton's Kevin Walsh
BELFAST, Northern Ireland (AP) — Irish boxer Michael Conlan, who famously gestured at 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games judges with his middle fingers, said he plans to retire without achieving his dream of becoming a world champion. The 34-year-old Belfast featherweight lost a 10-round split decision to undefeated Kevin Walsh at the SSE Arena on Friday night. Conlan, the favorite, had hoped a victory would get him a shot at WBC featherweight champion Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington.
“I want to walk away now, my health intact, my family good. I’ve done really well in boxing,” a bruised Conlan told reporters with his wife and two children seated next to him. “I’ve achieved an awful lot.
Did I reach my goal of being a world champion? No. That’s the hardest part about it all.
” One judge scored the bout 97-93 for Conlan (20-4), and the two others scored it 96-94 for Walsh (20-0), a native of Brockton — the same Massachusetts city that produced Rocky Marciano and Marvelous Marvin Hagler . “I always said the next defeat — no matter the situation or no matter the circumstances — that would be me finished with boxing, and it has come,” Conlan said. “I thought I won, but listen it is what it is.
I don't want to do it no more. It's time to say goodbye to boxing. ” Conlan fought for the IBF world featherweight title in 2023, losing to Luis Alberto Lopez in a fifth-round stoppage.