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Boxing
'The ability to go!' - Michael Conlan chasing another shot at world champion status
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Former featherweight world title challenger Michael Conlan still believes he has "the ability to go" and become champion at the very top as he targets a return to the ring.
The Belfast fighter has not contested a professional bout since a knockout loss to Jordan Gill in December 2023, spending all of the following year off the canvas.
His defeat came on the back of reverses to Leigh Wood in 2022 for the WBA featherweight title and Luis Alberto Lopez in 2023 for the IBF crown, both by technical knockout.
Conlan, a bronze medalist at the London 2012 Olympic Games, believes he can still contend at the top end of the sport however, and is targeting a spring return this year.
"[Winning a world title] is the only reason I'm still boxing," he told BBC Sport. "I still want to be a world champion, and I still believe I have the ability to go and do that.
"This is the trial to get back to that. Most likely I'll be back out in March, [for] a comeback style fight, 8-10 rounds. [I will] get that one done and probably fight another three times.
"So four times in total this year [for fights]. It will be a busy one which I need after a nice break and now I'm back at it.
"[2024] wasn't the best year of my life, there was stuff that happened, that is life, but it was also very enjoyable to have some rest, and I think it's done me the world of good.
"It is the longest I've ever had off from boxing, the body has been rested, the mind has been rested and now I'm hungry to get back and get the job done."
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