Michael Conlan intends to bow out at the top.
Already in possession of gold medals from the World Championships, the Europeans and the Commonwealth Games, the Belfast boxer hopes to complete the set in Rio de Janeiro next year before joining the professional ranks.
However Conlan, 24 later this month, insists he will give up the amateur game whether he lands Olympic gold or not, believing the time is right to make the move his older brother Jamie made in 2009.
The London 2012 bronze medallist is confident he can make the step up, he told SportsJOE this week that his training regime is “more professional than the professionals”.
.@mickconlan11 is officially the new @AIBA_Boxing world No1, only 2nd Irishman to achieve that after @johnJoeNevin pic.twitter.com/yiK87sZSvT
— Kevin Byrne (@KevByrneBox) November 3, 2015
Brimming with confidence after being crowned bantamweight world champion last month, the AIBA’s No1 told RTÉ that he expects to win in Brazil.
“I’m really looking forward to going to Rio and I know that I will get a gold medal,” he said.
“I’ll be going in to Rio as the number one seed and the favourite. It doesn’t put any pressure on me, it actually gives me extra confidence.
“There’s no doubt in my mind. I can feel it. I can see what I’m going to do, who I’m going to fight and what way I’m going to beat them. No matter who it is in front of me, they’re not going to stop me.
“I’ve always wanted to be a professional boxer. Even if the worst thing in the world happened and I got injured and didn’t get the gold or didn’t even get a medal I’d have to go.
“I couldn’t stay around for another Olympics. I’ll definitely be gone but I want to be going away with gold, no injuries, no losses. Nothing’s going to stop me.”
