Michael Conlan targets final chapter: Belfast boxer signs with Wasserman and eyes St Patrick’s Day title shot

A veteran’s reset, a new TV home, and one more run at the summit

Most fighters say they’ll come back. Not many spend six months running alone before dawn, clocking more than 900 miles to decide if they really mean it. That’s where Michael Conlan found his answer. At 33, the Belfast featherweight calls this his last chapter, but not a farewell tour. He’s trying to write something meaningful — and he’s betting a new promotional deal with Wasserman Boxing and free-to-air exposure on Channel 5 can give him the runway to do it.

The move ends a long stint with Top Rank, the powerhouse that guided him from a show-stopping pro debut on St Patrick’s Day at Madison Square Garden Theater in 2017 to nights headlining in Belfast. Wasserman promises something different: mass-market reach. Channel 5 is in millions of living rooms whether people plan to watch boxing or not, and that matters for a fighter rebuilding momentum. Recent domestic headliners on the network have drawn seven-figure peaks. For a name like Conlan, who already crosses over beyond hardcore fans, it’s a real platform.

If you’re wondering why he needed the reset, rewind to a rough 2023. In May, he challenged IBF champion Luis Alberto Lopez in Belfast and got stopped. In December, Jordan Gill knocked him out in the same city. Two brutal endings, seven months apart. Add the 2022 classic with Leigh Wood — a fight Conlan largely controlled before being dramatically knocked out in the twelfth — and you see a painful pattern: one punch undoing nights of good work.

After Gill, he hit pause. No sparring. No gym noise. He ran — hills, long miles, bad weather — to clear his head. He even jumped into a marathon. Somewhere on those roads, away from cameras and questions, the urge came back. He still wanted the gym life. He still wanted the jeopardy of camp and fight week. He still wanted to see if the best version of himself was still in there.

When he finally laced the gloves again, he did it quietly, easing back in with a points win over Asad Asif Khan in Brighton in March. No victory parade, just rounds banked and rust shaken off. Then came Dublin, the first pro fight of his career in the city he had often been linked to but never actually boxed in. Against Jack Bateson at the 3Arena, he looked sharper — two knockdowns, quicker hands, better timing, and a fourth-round finish after Bateson couldn’t continue with what appeared to be an ankle injury caused in the sequence that put him over. It wasn’t a perfect win, but it was a statement that he can still carry power late into exchanges and force mistakes.

The Bateson result flipped the mood. Instead of talk about retirement, people began matching him again in their heads. Josh Warrington’s name crept back into conversations. A second go at Leigh Wood still pulls interest given how dramatic the first fight was. And there are routes back into the title picture at 126 or even at 130 — belts change hands often, mandatories rotate, and opportunities pop up when you stay ready and keep winning.

That’s the other layer to Wasserman and Channel 5: timing. Free-to-air TV can keep a fighter visible while the sanctioning bodies reshuffle. With a couple of wins — the right opponents, the right nights — Conlan can push up the ratings and make himself unavoidable in negotiations. Wasserman has been active building domestic names in prime-time slots, and this suits him: he’s already a proven ticket-seller with a strong Irish fanbase in Belfast, Dublin, and New York.

New York matters here. Conlan’s pro story started in the Theatre at MSG on St Patrick’s Day with a raucous Irish crowd. He wants that date again, ideally with a belt on the line, either in Manhattan or back home. It fits the calendar and the narrative. If you’re in the business of making meaningful fights, an Irish headliner on March 17 sells itself.

The danger in all this is obvious. Conlan’s had three high-profile stoppage defeats. In the lower weight classes, 33 is a point where reflexes and durability get stress-tested every time you step up. He knows it. That’s why the six months off weren’t just about finding motivation; they were about letting his body and brain settle. When he came back, the work looked smarter — disciplined jabs, more set-ups, less loading up early. The Bateson finish came from timing, not recklessness.

He’s also not pretending he can shortcut the queue. Expect matchmaking that ratchets up sensibly: opponents who ask different questions — volume, pressure, southpaw looks — before the big swing. He needs a top-15 scalp or two to push back into a mandatory conversation. The good news is that Conlan already owns credible wins over solid operators like Ionut Baluta, TJ Doheny, and Miguel Marriaga. Those are the types of names that keep you relevant with TV schedulers and sanctioning bodies.

There’s also the part of Conlan’s story that explains why he still thinks there’s more to do. Before he was selling out arenas, he was one of Ireland’s most decorated amateurs. He earned Olympic bronze in London in 2012, won a world amateur title in 2015, and then grabbed global headlines in 2016 in Rio, when he protested a controversial decision and called out the judging. Years later, as a pro, he boxed and beat Vladimir Nikitin — the opponent from that Rio drama — at Madison Square Garden. It’s not just resume polish; it shows a career built on setting goals and eventually finding ways to hit them, even if the route takes longer than expected.

Style-wise, Conlan has always been more craftsman than wrecking ball. He’s comfortable leading or countering, picks shots well to the body, and can switch tempo to steal rounds late. His challenge now is physical management: making 126 cleanly when he needs to, or stepping to 130 without losing the edge that comes with being the quicker man. He has options. Featherweight is crowded but navigable, super-featherweight is volatile and full of opportunities for a slick boxer with timing.

So what does a realistic next six to nine months look like? If he fights again before year’s end — a European-level opponent in Belfast or Dublin — a strong showing would set up a bigger name early in the new year. If the schedule breaks right, St Patrick’s Day becomes the moment to gamble: a former champion, a domestic rival, or a belt if the sanctioning stars align.

• Venues in play: Belfast’s SSE Arena, Dublin’s 3Arena, or the Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York.
• Potential opponents: domestic rivals like Josh Warrington, a rematch with Leigh Wood if timelines match, or a top-10 contender to force a title eliminator.
• Weight options: stay at 126 for mandatory paths, or test 130 if a bigger opportunity opens up.

Wasserman’s pitch is straightforward: box on big free-to-air stages, keep a steady cadence of fights, and rebuild buzz with audiences who don’t subscribe to premium sports channels. It worked for Harlem Eubank, who became a familiar name to casual fans through consistent Channel 5 headliners. Conlan’s already a bigger ticket; a couple of highlight-reel nights and he’s back in every conversation.

There’s a quieter point too: fighters in the last stretch of their careers often talk about enjoyment, but you can hear it in Conlan’s voice when he describes those early-morning runs and the decision to return. He didn’t come back to tick boxes; he came back because the grind still feels like his. That tends to show up on fight night — in patience, in shot selection, in not forcing what isn’t there.

Of course, boxing doesn’t allow many do-overs. The matchmaking has to be right, the camps clean, the adjustments real. If the chin or reactions have slipped, the sport finds out fast. But if the Bateson version is now the baseline — balanced feet, better defense, sharp counter right hands — then the ceiling remains what it was when he turned pro: world-title level.

The calendar is his friend. Title pictures at 126 and 130 reshuffle every few months. Injuries, rematches, mandatories, and vacated belts constantly create gaps. If Conlan is active, he can be ready when something breaks his way. That’s how careers get revived — not through one miracle night, but through staying in position for when the miracle becomes possible.

And that’s the energy around him now. Not denial of the past, but acceptance of it. Not promises, but plans. He says he didn’t want to retire and wake up in a decade thinking, “what if?” That’s not a slogan for him; it’s the reason he got back on the road, then back in the ring.

The Irish boxing calendar could use a flagship night in the spring. The fanbase travels, the atmosphere sells, and the TV numbers follow. Conlan is trying to be the man who brings that back, one more time, with the lights brighter and the stakes higher precisely because he’s honest about the clock. The last chapter doesn’t have to be the last page. If he gets the matchmaking right and the body holds, there’s still room in this story for a belt, a parade of green flags, and a night that feels like closure.

What the Channel 5 move means — and the fights that shape the run

Channel 5 isn’t a luxury add-on; it’s reach. Free-to-air fights catch casuals flicking through channels, families who don’t pay for sports packages, and new fans who stick around if the product delivers. For a fighter like Conlan, that means bigger walk-up crowds, more recognizable opponents, and leverage when a title shot is on the table. It can also keep him busier — three fights in twelve months with escalating stakes is feasible on a broadcaster that likes consistent live events.

Wasserman’s job now is to line up opponents who matter. Think: a fringe world-level test to close the year, a top-10 opponent early next year, then the St Patrick’s Day play. The dials to watch are punch resistance at the higher pace, how he handles pressure in the mid-rounds, and whether the improved timing from Dublin travels against better opposition.

Conlan’s job is simpler and harder: win rounds clean, avoid the big moments that undid him before, and keep his engine where it was when he was setting traps and walking opponents onto counters. If he does that, a title shot on a holiday he’s long made his own isn’t a fantasy. It’s a plan with a date on the calendar and just enough runway to get there.