Michael Conlan has no doubt he will avoid what promoter Eddie Hearn warns would be a career-ending loss against Jordan Gill in Belfast on Saturday.
The former amateur world champion and Olympic bronze medallist had spent four years building up his professional CV but the seemingly inevitable drive to a title twice derailed on the last leg of the journey over the last 18 months.
Conlan was stopped in the final round by Leigh Wood in March 2022, a WBA world featherweight title fight that he had dominated in the early stages.
He got back on track after that first career defeat with wins against Miguel Marriaga and Karim Guerfi but lost a second title shot to IBF champion Luis Alberto Lopez last May, the Mexican knocking him out in the fifth at the SSE Arena.
Now 32, Conlan (18-2-0) has moved up to super-featherweight for a tough test against 30-year-old Englishman Gill (27-2-1) that will either set him back on the road towards a third title tilt or prompt thoughts of retirement.
"If Michael Conlan loses, his career is over," said Matchroom boss Hearn. "But if he wins and wins well… What's ahead? [IBF super-featherweight champion] Joe Cordina? Josh Warrington? There are massive fights ahead.
"Michael sells. He's expected to beat Jordan Gill and he’s coming off a knockout defeat but we should have 7,000 in there on Saturday which is a big old crowd. You know he sells, you know the atmosphere will be fantastic and we have a lot of guys at 130lbs that he can fight.
"If he was to make a statement he will walk straight into a massive fight. If Conlan went to the City Ground in Nottingham [for a Leigh Wood rematch] he might bring 8-9,000. If he went to Cardiff [to fight Cordina] he’d take 5-6,000 or Joe might come here for a big outdoor show for the world title [possibly Croke Park]."
"He lacks something. He has quit in him" - Michael Conlan on Jordan Gill
Conlan is convinced he has the measure of his former sparring partner Gill.
"There are an awful lot of reasons why I know I'll get him out of there," he said. "He lacks something. He has quit in him. And that's it.
"I'm not going back and saying 'this happened in sparring, this happened in sparring'. Sparring is sparring. Things happen.
"But if you wanted to take confidence from anything, you know, I definitely can. I’ve seen an awful lot of things throughout that time and even in his performances since that time, where you go 'Yeah OK, I understand. I know what I got to do'.
"So going into Saturday night you can look back to the sparring all you want and I’m sure he probably does an awful lot but I’m just focused on the job and that’s going in there and getting the win on Saturday."
Gill, whose most recent outing was a KO loss against Bernard Dunne and Carl Frampton's old foe Kiko Martinez in October last year, said: "I feel great. There's no pressure on me at all. That's the way I'm looking at this. This is a massive opportunity for me to put myself where I need to be.
"I'm feeling strong and I'm feeling great. On the scales, I'm not going to look like a skeleton like I did at 126lbs. I should have moved up maybe three or four years ago.
"It's going to be a great fight. When he boxed Leigh it was fight of the year. I'm expecting another one on Saturday. I'm really excited and ready to go. All of the pressure is on him. He's the star of the show, I'm just the opponent."
On the undercard, another Belfast man, super-welterweight contender Caoimhin Agyarko (13-0-0) faces the biggest challenge of his career to date against former British Champion Troy Williamson (20-1-1).
Tyrone McKenna (23-3-1) and Lewis Crocker (17-0-0) clash in a much-anticipated 147lbs all-Belfast showdown and local super-lightweight Sean McComb (17-1-0) takes on former British and Commonwealth Champion Sam Maxwell (17-2-0).
