Michael Conlan claims he is ready for a "step up" in opposition for his second professional bout.
Belfast’s world amateur bantamweight champion looks likely to return to the ring on May 26 in Chicago, having made a victorious bill-topping debut with a third-round stoppage win over US journeyman Tim Ibarra in New York on St Patrick’s Day.
The 25-year-old is expected to headline yet another Top Rank fight card next month at the 9,500-capacity UIC Pavilion, which is on the campus of the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Top Rank president Todd duBoef this morning explained, "we’re working on finalising it, but it looks like a high probability" with fight arrangements for the Chicago card expected to be confirmed by early next week.
Conlan had looked set to fight in Boston next month, but a May 26 date in the ‘Windy City’ now appears to be next on the Irishman’s ring schedule.
"I’m just delighted to finally get it out there," said Conlan this morning. "That’s the main thing – just to have the date set in my head and then I can focus on what I’m doing in training.
"Sometimes if you’re not sure about the date then you might not be giving it as much as you possibly could have [in training]," added the 25-year-old, who is keen to face a step up in class after easily dispatching Ibarra at a sold-out Madison Square Garden Theater.
"It’s always going to be a step up every fight now, so whether it’s a big one or a small step up, I don’t care," claimed Conlan. "I’m ready for anything, whatever they want to do and whoever they put in front of me.
"We’ll know [an opponent] in the next week or so. I’m not worried about it - I haven’t picked anybody or asked for anybody.
"I’ll just let Top Rank do their business. They know what they’re doing, they know how to pick the best match for me, so I’ll let them sort it out," added Conlan, who will hope to attract support from Chicago’s Irish-American community after a fairly sensational debut in New York when the presence of Conor McGregor in his corner added to the hype surrounding the occasion.
The London 2012 Olympic medallist returned to training at the California base of coach Manny Robles just one week after his first paid fight as a Boston date had been in the works for mid-May.
Conlan has been training alongside world champions Oscar Valdez, Gilberto Ramirez and Jessie Magdaleno ahead of the trio’s title defences in Carson this weekend.
"There was talk that I was going to be back out again on 12 May or 19 May [in Boston] so that’s why I was back in the gym so early," explained Conlan, who also trains with former Irish amateur team-mate Jason Quigley at Robles’ Rock Gym.
"It’s been a fantastic buzz around the gym. It’s fight week now [for Valdez, Ramierz and Magdaleno] and they’re cutting weight, but they’re still happy enough.
"They’re all looking forward to it," added the 25-year-old, whose second pro contest is likely to take place over six rounds, just above the 122lb super-bantamweight limit.
