Michael Conlan suffered an embarrassing defeat when he lost a split decision to Kevin Walsh in his hometown of Belfast.
Conlan, a two-time Olympian and bronze medalist at the 2012 London Olympics, still harbored ambitions of a world title shot after Walsh.
However, he suffered a points loss at the SSE Arena in Belfast.
One judge had Conlan winning the 10-rounder 97-93, but the other two judges both had it 96-94 for Walsh.
Undefeated American Walsh, from Brockton, Mass., earned the best win of his career to date.
Kevin Walsh celebrates an unexpected victory.
“It was a close fight,” Walsh said. “But I did it.”
Conlan turned pro in the public eye and worked his way to the top of the world. His unusual clash with Lee Wood in 2022 ended in a knockout loss.
In 2023, he challenged Luis Alberto Lopez for the IBF featherweight world title, but lost by stoppage. An embarrassing loss to Jordan Gill in 2023 was also a major blow to his career.
He was rebuilding after impressing with a knockout win over Jack Bateson last year.
However, this loss is a big setback. Now the 34-year-old may have to consider his future in the sport rather than chasing a world title.
