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The Irishman has run 3-3 in his last six outings, dropping TKO losses to the likes of Leigh Wood, Luis Alberto Lopez and Jordan Gill, and a scholar of the sport like Conlan should understand that there are rarely fairytale endings in boxing.<\/p>\n
Jack Bateson is a hungry and, compared to Conlan, fresh contender, who despite not owning that knockout power, will believe he has the tools to push Conlan into retirement. An impressive amateur himself, Bateson hasn\u2019t been given the same push that others have on the world scene \u2014 such is the business of boxing \u2014 so Friday night offers that opportunity for him to finally break out.<\/p>\n
Pat McCormack to avoid Matchroom\u2019s Mexican mishap?<\/p>\n
Matchroom prospects and Mexican mishaps go hand-in-hand like peanut butter and jelly, salt and pepper, Chelsea Football Club and winning trophies.<\/p>\n
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But this relationship isn\u2019t necessarily a harmonious one.<\/p>\n
On more than one occasion, Matchroom\u2019s Eddie Hearn has been seen ringside with his head in his hands following another one of his charges losing to a relatively unknown Mexican.<\/p>\n
Well, \u201cFool me once, shame on you,\u201d etc.<\/p>\n
Hearn is once again rolling the dice, this time with his fresh-faced Olympian, Pat McCormack (7-0, 5 KOs), who steps into his eighth pro fight against the hardened Miguel Parra (25-5-1, 17 KOs) on Saturday night in the northeast of England.<\/p>\n
McCormack has been left frustrated due to injury and inactivity over the past couple of years, but a win over Parra will force the conversations to begin for British and European opportunities at welterweight.<\/p>\n
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Parra said in the final press conference that he \u201cis going to enjoy this fight\u201d and \u201chope to do his best\u201d \u2014 hardly a rabble-rousing statement of intent, but perhaps this is a case of yet another traveling underdog playing possum.<\/p>\n
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Pat McCormack (left) and Miguel Parra pose during their weigh-in ahead of their WBA Intercontinental welterweight title fight in Newcastle upon Tyne, England.<\/p>\n
(Mark Robinson via Getty Images)Pedro Guevara and Adrian Curiel light up Sinaloa<\/p>\n
If you want to put your chips on an under-the-radar banger for this weekend, then look no further than Pedro Guevara (43-5-1, 22 KOs) vs. Adrian Curiel (26-6-1, 5 KOs).<\/p>\n
Ten years separate these pair of seasoned Mexican super flyweights, but we\u2019re not expecting to see a massive gulf between them on Saturday as they act as co-main event to “Sugar” Nunez\u2019s homecoming.<\/p>\n
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Guevara\u2019s losses have come to the best of the best across the lower weights, most recently a third-round TKO at the heavy hands of Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez. He bounced back with a win in March earlier this year, but will be kept busy by the fresher Curiel, who was a world champion just 18 months ago before losing his strap in a rematch to the man he bested the first time around: Sivenathi Nontshinga (13-2, 10 KOs).<\/p>\n
The bookmakers have Guevara as the slight favorite in this one, but no result would be a shock in a fight that will surely catch fire.<\/p>\n
The inaugural World Boxing Championships kick off in Liverpool<\/p>\n
If you happen to find yourself in Liverpool, England this weekend \u2014 or into next week \u2014 cancel your booking at The Beatles museum and head to the M&S Bank Arena for the World Boxing Championships.<\/p>\n
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Five hundred eighty boxers from nearly 70 countries will compete over the course of 11 days, as the new global governing body, World Boxing, allows us a peek into the future of how the amateur game will look under their control.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a high-pressure dress rehearsal for Los Angeles 2028, where boxing will once again feature in the Summer Olympics after overcoming serious doubts over the sport\u2019s future in the Games.<\/p>\n