Conlan vs. Marriaga Preview
SSE Arena in Belfast, Northern Ireland will play host to a dynamic featherweight this Saturday August 6th. Former title challenger Michael Conlan will try to rebound from a title loss in his last fight when he battles Columbian veteran Miguel Marriaga.
Conlan is a former interim WBA featherweight champion and he challenged for the WBA (regular) featherweight title in his last fight but lost in heartbreaking fashion by 12th round TKO to Leigh Wood in March. The fight has been one of the best fights so far in 2022 and many people had Conlan ahead on the scorecards until he was knocked out in devastating fashion.
The Irish fighter has not let the knockout phase him. "The punch that got me was more fatigue than actual damage done on me," Conlan said. "Not one of his punches before hurt me. Up until the last half of a round, I was completely in control and I didn't take much stick in the fight, or a beating. So I wanted to get straight back into it.
"There's no one better for me to face right now than Marriaga. He's tried and tested, fought at a good level."
The 30-year-old has taken his first loss as a chance to learn from his own mistakes. "What I learned from that Wood fight is, don't get drunk on your own success," Conlan said. "I was doing more than I needed to do -- I could have just boxed myself to victory in the last half of the fight. Although having said that, the scorecards were tight somehow [105-102, 104-103 and 104-103 in favor of Conlan at the time of the stoppage], I don't understand that. But I took more from that loss than I would have from winning it. I made a lot of silly mistakes and I have rectified those with my trainer, Adam Booth."
As far as a rematch goes with Wood Conlan said, "Of course I want the rematch. He won the lottery that night with that punch, and you could see it in his reaction," Conlan said. "When is that Santa Cruz fight going to happen, and will it ever happen? I'm not so sure, but I hope Leigh wins if it does so we can do the rematch. If it drags on, I will chase another champion. I'm willing to fight the best right away. I've already shown I can hang with the best guys in the world."
Conlan was a bronze medalist at the 2012 Olympics as a flyweight but was controversially defeated in the 2016 by Vladimir Nikitin in the quarterfinals. He is not a stranger to rebounding from a heartbreaking loss as he later defeated Nikitin as a pro in 2019. The Irishman will have a golden opportunity on Saturday to prove to the world in his own backyard that he can do it a second time.
Marriaga (30-5, 26 KO) is also rebounding from a loss in his last fight to Eduardo Ramirez by unanimous decision in December. The veteran is no stranger to big fights as he has unsuccessfully fought for a major title three times in his career.
The Columbian fighter has been in the ring with the likes of fighters such as Vasiliy Lomachenko, Oscar Valdez, and Nicholas Walters. It is always a dangerous notion for a fighter like Conlan to try redeeming a crucial loss by fighting in his home country against all things consider a fighter like Marriaga who has nothing to lose. The 35-year-old who made his pro debut in 2009 will not be an easy fight for Conlan.
The fight can be seen on ESPN+
