Michael Conlan says he is excited with the prospect of working under new trainer Adam Booth, and insists the split from Manny Robles was also influenced in part by family commitments
The Belfast boxer had been trained by Manny Robles in the first five bouts of his career, with this move seeing him join fellow Irish boxers Andy Lee and Ryan Burnett under Booth’s guidance.
"I’m really excited about the move," said Conlan, who has been testing the waters with Booth over the past week before announcing his move.
"It’s one I took a lot of time to think about, but I knew if I was moving closer to home that I wanted to link up with Adam.
"I’d like to thank Manny for all his help. I really enjoyed the time we spent working together and I learned a lot, it was a great experience, but I just felt I needed a change and it was important to be training closer to home for my family."
Conlan and his fiancée Shauna relocated from Belfast 13 months ago and are now expecting a second child. He will now train with Booth in London and commute back and forth to Belfast.
"We have another baby on the way and I think this will make life a lot easier both personally and professionally.
"I was moving towards more of a Mexican style and I think Adam Booth probably suits my natural style so I’m looking forward to getting ready to fight.
"I think working with Adam will help me develop, but I’ll also be able to get back to what I do best and concentrate on my boxing skills," added the London 2012 Olympic medallist.
The 26-year-old is expected to make a return to the ring in the US in March as part of another St Patrick's Day show in Madison Square Garden.
While insisting there was no fall-out with Robles, the 26-year-old said he simply couldn’t overlook the opportunity to work with Booth.
"I’m really happy with how things have gone so far," said Conlan. "I feel like I’ve got a good bond with Adam and the lads in the gym too. I’ve really clicked with them and I’m really looking forward to getting things going and working towards Paddy’s Day in New York.
"I always said that if I ever came back closer to home that I’d want to train with Adam Booth so the question was did he want to train with me? Fortunately he did.
"I see the bond Adam has with his fighters. That’s something that I felt was probably missing for me and it’s one of the main reasons I came here," added Conlan.
