Michael Conlan grew up in West Belfast and comes from a family steeped in boxing, so it was no surprise that he would follow in his brothers footsteps to Clonard ABC at only 8 years of age. He was always a young boxer who was full of confidence in the ring and winning an Irish title in his first year set him on his way in amateur boxing. Michael opens up about going down the wrong path in his teenage years by drinking and taking various substances from as early as 12-13 years of age. A turning point came when he was selected for the Commonwealth Youth Games at 16. He was told he would have to be drug tested and this was a moment when Michael decided things had to change in his life and from that point, he dedicated himself fully to boxing.

Once Michael moved to senior level, he would soon really come to the fore and would win Ulster and Irish senior titles in 2010 and 2011. After reaching the quarter finals of the World Championships in 2011, an Olympic spot in London 2012 was secured. Michael would go on to claim a bronze medal at those unforgettable games after losing to the Cuban who would eventually claim gold. Over the next 3 years, Michael would cement himself in Irish boxing history by winning Commonwealth, European and World senior gold medals and he goes into depth about the journey to winning these major titles. Going into the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, he was the poster boy of Irish sport and alongside Katie Taylor was the favourite to claim a gold medal for Ireland.

We go into depth about the build up to the hugely controversial quarter final defeat to Russian, Vladimir Nikitin. Who can forget the famous middle finger salute to the judges and the raw interview he gave to RTE straight after the fight. Michael speaks from the heart on his amateur career and there are plenty of funny stories thrown in there as well. Listen to part 1 today of our 2 part special episode.

Paul Quinn and I chat about all the main talking points from the last month in Irish and World boxing. We review the recent huge card at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium featuring the brutal war between Chris Eubank Sr and Conor Benn. We also discuss if Irish boxing now has a new star after Aaron McKenna's fantastic performance to defeat Liam Smith on the undercard. We then turn our attention to this past weekend with wins for Canelo Alvarez, Naoya Inoue, Devin Haney and Roddy Romero. We also preview some of the big shows coming up including Anto Cacace v Leigh Wood this weekend which also features Kurt Walker in a 50/50 against Liam Davies. Lastly, we chat about the announced undisputed title fights featuring Oleksandr Usyk v Daniel Dubois in Wembley in July and Canelo Alvarez v Terence Crawford in Las Vegas this September.

Danny chats to me growing up in Cork and his start in boxing. He had a very successful amateur career, winning 3 Irish National titles and represented Ireland at the European championships. He would decide to travel to Australia as many lads would in their late teens, but he would soon stumble across a boxing gym and continue his journey on the other side of the world. He would turn professional over in Australia and would win his first 3 fights before COVID would derail his career.

Danny would decide to move back home in 2020 and would begin the next chapter of his pro career in 2021. In recent years he has won fights in Ireland and in Australia to remain undefeated 9-0. In recent months a link up with manager, Dennis Hogan and being signed by Tasman promotions has allowed him to get onto the huge DAZN platform. He now has an opportunity to win his first title as he challenges for the WBC Australasia title on the undercard of Jai Opetaia's world title fight in Australia on June 8th. Danny is hoping this next fight will be just the start of the titles in his career. Listen to his story today.