MICHAEL CONLAN returns to the ring for the first time in 15 months this evening against Asad Asif Khan.
It’s been an even longer road back than that makes it sound for the Belfast native who has suffered devastating knockout defeats in his last two contests.
But he remains determined to get his pro career back on track – starting tonight in Brighton versus Khan (19-5-1).
Here’s everything you need to know around how to catch it from your couch:
What TV channel is Michael Conlan’s fight on?
As far as we can tell, it’ll only be broadcast on Channel 5 in the UK. There’s also a streaming option provided by My5.
What time will his ring walk be?
The card’s main event between another son of Belfast in Tyrone McKenna against Harlem Eubank is set to get going at 10pm.
So you can expect Conlan to enter the ring for around 9pm. His bout is to be an eight-rounder.
What’s been said in the build-up?
In his time away, Conlan ran a marathon, worked behind the scenes in boxing and seriously considered calling it quits.
By the time the 33-year-old dipped his toe back in the water with a new trainer, Grant Smith, he found that the habit of a lifetime had deserted him.
Conlan told The Rocky Road podcast: “I’ll be honest, after a year out of the ring, my first seven to ten spars, I was absolutely terrible. I was like, ‘have I forgotten how to box?’
“Grant says, ‘Mick, I understand you’ve not been in the ring so long. Don’t worry about it. It’s gonna come, it’s gonna come’.
“I was like, ‘I don’t know if it’s gonna f***ing come here. What’s happening?’
“It was like my timing, my distance and everything, and I was going, ‘where is my boxing brain going here?’
“But then everything started to come back. I’m like, oh, ‘there I am. There I am. I’m still here. I’m still here. I still know what I’m doing’.
“And everything’s starting to fall into place now, which is good.
The pair have worked together since mid-2024.
Smith, dad of European 140lb champ Dalton, runs a right ship in England’s Steel City and has demanded the Full Monty from the Belfast man as he prepares for his comeback.
Conlan added: “Yeah, I’m basically living here in Sheffield.
“It’s a great gym. Grant is a great coach, but also as a human being, he’s a very good man. I really like it.
“It’s brought the spark back in me of boxing. I’ve been here since end of September, start of October, and I’ve had plenty of time working together now.
“With my last coach Pedro Diaz, we were only together for basically six weeks of training.
“I’m feeling good physically, mentally. I’ve cleared a lot of s*** going on in my personal life, and I’m happy.”
