Michael Conlan has described this as potentially his last fight in Belfast. That framing alone tells you everything about the weight this night carries. The 34-year-old Irishman returns to the SSE Arena — the scene of two of his three professional losses — on Friday March 20 to defend the WBC International Featherweight title against unbeaten American Kevin Walsh. A win keeps Conlan’s dream of one last world title shot alive. A loss, by his own admission, likely ends his career.
Walsh, meanwhile, has spent months publicly calling out world champions. The man from Brockton, Massachusetts — hometown of Rocky Marciano and Marvelous Marvin Hagler — arrives in Belfast at 19-0 knowing that a win against a former world title challenger in his own backyard would announce him on the international stage in a way nothing else on his résumé has.
| Date | Friday, 20 March 2026 |
| Venue | SSE Arena, Belfast, Northern Ireland |
| Division | Featherweight — 126 lbs |
| Rounds | 10 |
| Title | WBC International Featherweight Championship |
| Promotion | MF Pro |
| Broadcast | DAZN (worldwide) |
Record: 20-3-0, 10 KOs | Age: 34 | Nationality: 🇮🇪 Ireland Height: 5’8” / 173cm | Reach: 69” / 175cm | Stance: Orthodox
Conlan’s story is one of the most compelling — and painful — in recent British and Irish boxing. An Olympic bronze medallist in Rio 2016 (whose exit, amid controversy and viral fury at the judging panel, made him famous before he’d thrown a professional punch), he turned pro with enormous expectation. He lived up to it — until Belfast started delivering heartbreak.
Three losses, all stoppages, two of them at the SSE Arena. The Leigh Wood fight in Nottingham (2022) is the one that haunts — Conlan was winning on all three judges’ scorecards entering the 12th round before Wood produced one of the decade’s great knockouts, sending Conlan through the ropes entirely. He was stretchered out. Then came the Lopez TKO in round five of an IBF title shot at home. Then Jordan Gill stopped him in seven rounds in Belfast in December 2023 — a fight Conlan later admitted he shouldn’t have taken given his personal circumstances.
He spent fifteen months away from the ring. When he returned in March 2025, he outpointed Asad Asif Khan over eight rounds. Six months later, he stopped Jack Bateson in four rounds in Dublin, claiming the WBC International belt in the process. The data since his comeback reads cleanly: two wins, two finishes or points victories, no damage. The rebuild is working.
He is now ranked #9 by the WBC at featherweight, and his stated target is WBC champion Bruce Carrington.
Record: 19-0-0, 10 KOs | Age: 33 | Nationality: 🇺🇸 USA (Brockton, MA) Height: 5’7” / 171cm | Reach: 65” / 165cm | Stance: Orthodox
Walsh’s backstory is extraordinary. He grew up in Brockton, Massachusetts — a city that produced two pound-for-pound all-time greats in Rocky Marciano and Marvelous Marvin Hagler. His father introduced him to boxing basics in their family basement, but died when Walsh was 17 after suffering a brain injury following an attack. Walsh fell into street violence, drug dealing, and robbery. He served time in juvenile detention and prison, where he improvised training using a bible, pillow stuffing, and bedsheets. After his release, local combat sports figures connected him to trainer Mike Cappiello, and Walsh committed entirely.
He turned professional at 28 in May 2021 — late by elite standards — and has gone 19-0 since, winning multiple regional titles including the WBC USA Silver featherweight belt. His most notable scalp is Tramaine Williams, a former WBO junior featherweight title challenger whom Walsh edged by split decision over ten rounds in May 2025. His last two outings: a KO1 of Angel Luna in September and a UD8 over Jose Sosa in November.
He is, by any objective measure, the biggest fight of his career.
| Conlan | Walsh | |
|---|---|---|
| Record | 20-3-0 | 19-0-0 |
| KOs | 10 (50%) | 10 (53%) |
| Age | 34 | 33 |
| Height | 5’8” / 173cm | 5’7” / 171cm |
| Reach | 69” / 175cm | 65” / 165cm |
| Stance | Orthodox | Orthodox |
| Debut | 2017 | 2021 |
The reach gap — four inches in Conlan’s favour — is the headline number here. At featherweight, where fights are often decided in the pocket, a four-inch reach advantage is significant. Conlan has the tools to box on the outside and make Walsh work through jabs before he can get to range. Walsh has the longer-term question about whether his record — built against opponents without Conlan’s world title fight experience — will translate at this level.
Michael Conlan — Last 5 Fights
| Date | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | Jack Bateson | W TKO4 — WBC International title |
| Mar 2025 | Asad Asif Khan | W UD8 |
| Dec 2023 | Jordan Gill | L TKO7 |
| May 2023 | Luis Alberto Lopez | L KO5 — IBF title |
| Dec 2022 | Kash Farooq / Guerfi | W KO1 |
Kevin Walsh — Last 5 Fights
| Date | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 2025 | Jose Sosa | W UD8 |
| Sep 2025 | Angel Luna | W KO1 |
| May 2025 | Tramaine Williams | W SD10 |
| Feb 2025 | Ricky de los Santos | W TKO8 — WBC USA Silver |
| Nov 2024 | Irvin Gonzalez | W TKO4 — NE title |
Conlan’s form shows a fighter returning to health: two wins, both convincing, neither involving a significant scare. Walsh’s shows relentless forward momentum — five wins in seven months, though the step up in quality for this fight is substantial.
Both fighters are orthodox, which removes some of the complexity of mirror-stance matchups. The key tactical questions come down to range and physicality.
Conlan will want to keep this at medium-to-long range where his four-inch reach advantage is maximised. His jab — the tool that kept him ahead on the scorecards against Leigh Wood for eleven rounds — is his primary weapon when he is fighting at his best. If he can control the distance and land the right hand to the body in the mid-rounds, he has the experience to close the show.
Walsh needs to close the distance early and make this a high-volume, mid-range fight. He throws punches in combination and has demonstrated legitimate stopping power across multiple rounds and distances. The risk for him is that Conlan — for all three of his losses — has never been reckless; each defeat came either against elite opposition (Lopez, Wood) or in unique personal circumstances (Gill). Walsh needs to be the aggressor without becoming hittable on the way in.
The crowd factor matters too. An SSE Arena full of Belfast fans is one of the most electric atmospheres in British and Irish boxing. Conlan will feed off that energy; Walsh will need to use it as fuel rather than be consumed by it.
Conlan wins if:
Walsh wins if:
| Fighter | UK Odds | US Odds |
|---|---|---|
| Michael Conlan | 1/5 | -500 |
| Kevin Walsh | 3/1 | +300 |
Conlan is a heavy favourite at 1/5 (-500), and the logic is sound. He has fought — and won rounds against — Leigh Wood and Luis Alberto Lopez, both genuine world champions. Walsh has never faced anyone close to that level. The four-inch reach advantage is structural. The Belfast crowd gives Conlan a priceless home advantage.
But the odds understate Walsh slightly. He is 19-0, power-punching, and has not been past the distance in any of his last five wins. Conlan’s three stoppages show he can be hurt.
Our pick: Conlan UD10. He uses the range, controls the early rounds, and wins clearly on points. Walsh will make it competitive — his volume and forward pressure will test Conlan’s discipline — but the experience gap, the reach, and the home advantage should prove decisive. A stoppage either way would not be a surprise.
| Country | Broadcaster | Card Start | Main Event (approx.) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🇬🇧 UK / 🇮🇪 Ireland | DAZN | 5:00 PM GMT | ~10:00 PM GMT |
| 🇺🇸 USA | DAZN | 2:00 PM EST | ~5:00 PM EST |
Available on DAZN worldwide — subscription required.
This is Michael Conlan’s last roll of the dice in Belfast, and he knows it. Three losses, a 15-month absence, and now a final push toward a world title he has never won. The data from his rebuild is encouraging — but Walsh is no Jack Bateson. Friday’s result will tell us whether Conlan has genuinely rediscovered his best self, or whether the losses have taken a toll that even Belfast’s electric atmosphere can’t overcome.
When is Conlan vs Walsh? Friday, 20 March 2026. The card starts at 5:00 PM GMT (2:00 PM EST), with the main event ringwalks expected around 10:00 PM GMT / 5:00 PM EST.
Where is Conlan vs Walsh? The SSE Arena, Belfast, Northern Ireland.
How can I watch Conlan vs Walsh? The fight is live on DAZN worldwide, including the UK, Ireland, and USA. A DAZN subscription is required.
What are the betting odds for Conlan vs Walsh? Conlan is the heavy favourite at 1/5 (-500). Walsh is the underdog at 3/1 (+300).
What title is on the line? Michael Conlan’s WBC International Featherweight Championship — it is his first defence of the title he won in September 2025.
What are Conlan’s and Walsh’s strengths? Conlan’s strengths are his range (a 4-inch reach advantage), jab, experience at the highest level, and the home crowd advantage. Walsh’s strengths are his unbeaten record, finishing power (10 KOs from 19 fights), and physical aggression. He has not been past the distance in any of his last five fights.
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