Michael Conlan may be approaching the end of his career, but the Irishman’s fierce desire to win the world title has not waned in the slightest.
Defeats to Leigh Wood and Luis Alberto Lopez in 2022 and 2023 respectively prevented him from playing, which many believed was almost a foregone conclusion.
He finally entered the professional game in 2017 with a grave point to prove as he received a penalty a truly glaring defeat against Vladimir Nikitin at the Olympic Games in Rio.
However, almost a decade later, Conlan has yet to realize his ultimate ambitions, but he believes a third blow at world honors will soon come.
Meanwhile, the 34-year-old needs to stay in the win column against Kevin Walsh, which he is preparing for next Friday at the SSE Arena in Belfast.
In an interview with Conlan, he said he had been preparing for this opportunity since tardy last year, mostly training away from home.
“I have been training for this fight since mid-December, although I had a holiday over Christmas, but I still trained while I was away.
“I think that says a lot about my dedication to boxing. If I wanted to be indolent and half-crazy and I was just doing it for the money, I could train at home with random trainers.
“But I’m really enjoying it here in Sheffield with Grant Smith. I feel like I’m still learning and improving, even though I’ve been boxing for 27 years. You don’t stop learning the game.”
As for his next opponent, Conlan knows he faces a tougher opponent – and that will certainly be the case if he fights for another world title – but he also feels that at this stage of his career he simply cannot afford to take his eyes off the ball.
“It’s a risky fight because [Walsh] is rather unknown. He has a winning record, appears to be a demanding hitter and loves to trade.
“If you lose to him, people will laugh at you. But who cares? It’s a fight that raises my ranking and puts me in a position to fight for the WBC world title.
“So that’s why I took it. It might be a banana peel, but I’ll make sure it isn’t.”
The WBC featherweight title clearly appeals to Conlan more than a potential rematch with Wood, who the Belfast fighter said looked “very aged” after winning a unanimous decision over Josh Warrington last month.
On the other hand, someone who is just entering his prime is Bruce Carrington, who won his green and gold belt in January with an emphatic ninth-round victory over Carlos Castro.
“I think Bruce is a very good fighter – very talented, very skillful, very explosive, has power and a good boxing IQ. It’s a tough fight, but I believe I can win it.
“It would be nice [to rematch Wood] at some stage, but right now my only focus is on winning the world title.
“After that, who knows? Maybe I’ll sing a swan song against Leigh if he’s still here at this stage.”
It’s demanding to say whether he will ultimately rematch Wood, but at the moment Conlan’s thoughts are firmly on a possible shot at Carrington.
But even then, will the wily technician really be content with his story if it doesn’t include a world title?
“I thought about this question a lot. Have I done what I wanted to do in professional boxing? If I don’t win a world title, then no, I didn’t do it.
“Will I feel like it was a waste of time? No, because it gave my family a better life. But will I feel like I didn’t accomplish much? Yes, definitely.”
In reality, Conlan has had a career that most can only dream of, but time will tell if he walks away from the sport with all the boxes ticked.