Carl Frampton says it’s going to be difficult for Michael Conlan (18-2, 9 KOs) to come back from his fifth round knockout loss to IBF featherweight champion Luis Alberto Lopez (28-2, 16 KOs) from last Saturday night at the SSE Arena in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Carl Frampton thinks it’s going to be difficult for Conlan to come back at 31 because none of the champions at featherweight are going to pick him out in a voluntary defense.
For Conlan to work his way into a mandatory position, it could take a long time, and even then, he would need to beat a good contender to earn the #1 spot.
Conlan tried to stay on the outside, but Lopez was so good at closing the distance to land his big uppercut that there was no way for Mick to keep him off. There was no way that Conlan could keep his distance because Lopez was cutting off the ring quickly and throwing uppercuts with maximum power from long distance.
Being under constant duress from Lopez during every second of the fight wore Conlan down, and he looked exhausted by the fourth round. Lopez hurt Conlan with a right hand in round four and unloaded on him with a flurry of power shots.
In between rounds, Conlan looked like a beaten fighter, and it was obvious that he wasn’t going to make it through the fifth.
The two-time Olympian Conlan lost his second in his last four fights since last year and his second knockout defeat afteer losing to Leigh Wood in 2022.
“It was always going to be a hard fight. I never thought it was going to be easy. I fancied the Mexican in the fight,” said Carl Frampton to All Out Fighting, reacting to Luis Alberto Lopez’s victory over Michael Conlan last Saturday night in Belfast.
“After a round, I could see that it was going to be a hard night for him. Lopez is really, really good. He’s unorthodox and jumped in from different angles. I think he’s someone we’ll talk about for a number of years time.
“It’s going to be hard to beat that kid. In the Leigh Wood fight, it was literally at the last minute that he fell short,” said Frampton about Conlan being a world level fighter despite his two losses.
“It’s going to be a difficult comeback. He’s 31 now. I mean, he’s a very good fighter. So if you’re a champion and you’re not looking to make a voluntary defense, it’s going to be difficult for him [Conlan] to get back there. Hopefully, he can do it,” said Frampton.
“It’s great to see boxing come back [to Belfast], and that’s where we needed Mick to win to bring it back.”
