Belfast hosted a big night of boxing as hometown favorite Michael Conlan returned to the SSE Arena to defend his WBC International featherweight title against undefeated American Kevin Walsh. The card also featured title fights and rising Irish prospects looking to make their mark in front of a strong local crowd.
In the main event, Walsh edged Conlan by split decision after ten rounds in a competitive fight. Walsh showed composure in his international debut, landing the cleaner shots in key moments, while Conlan had success in patches, especially in the early rounds. After ten rounds, the judges scored the fight 96-94 and 97-93 for Walsh, with one card at 96-94 for Conlan.
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In the co-feature, Kieran Molloy defeated Xavier Kohlen by unanimous decision over ten rounds to win the vacant IBF European welterweight title. Molloy controlled the fight from the start, using his jab and steady pressure to dominate the action, with judges scoring it 98-92, 100-90, and 99-91.
At super middleweight, Niall Brown stopped Darren Johnstone in the third round of their title eliminator. Brown applied early pressure and broke through with a strong attack that forced the referee to stop the fight at 44 seconds of the round.
Earlier on the card, Codie Smith stopped Lee Gormley in the opening round, while Jak Corrie knocked out Jacob Quinn in the second round. Both fights ended early after sustained pressure and clean finishing shots.
Elsewhere, Ben Marksby earned a fourth-round stoppage over Carlos Daniel Cordoba, while Kurt Walker and Kyle Smith each won four-round decisions. Post-fight bouts saw Glenn Byrne and Sam Norris also pick up points victories to round out the event.
Watch the official full card highlights: Watch
Image Credit: BBC