By Andrew Watters
Michael Conlan's dream of a third world title shot came crashing down after outsider Jordan Gill stopped the Belfast favourite early in the seventh round at the SSE Arena.
Conlan never settled and was in serious trouble in the second after Gill caught him flush with a left cross and, although he survived and fought his way back into the fight, there were warning signs in almost every round as Gill continued to land punishing shots.
The end came just over a minute into the seventh when Gill sent a right hand over his low guard and referee Howard Foster stepped in to stop it with Conlan out on his feet.
"I want to be a world champion and I feel that, after this win, I deserve a shot," said a triumphant Gill after his career-best, life-changing performance.
"The plan was to make Mick work and I thought I could hurt him with either hand and I hurt him in every round.
"I knew Conlan is a proud man and he has so much heart in front of his Belfast fans and I had to take my time and wear him down and I did that."
Conlan, starting in the orthodox stance, got his jab going early on and circling on the outside, covered up as Gill fired off brief attacks. The local favourite ended the round with three whiplash right hooks to the Englishman’s body.
In second, Gill nailed him flush on the chin in a neutral corner and sent Conlan crashing to the floor. He was shaken and pushed to the brink of a career-ending early defeat as Gill went for the kill, but held on to the end of the round.
Conlan steadied the ship over the first two minutes of the second until Gill caught him with a right hand that drove him into the ropes and again Conlan looked in trouble.
That was the pattern as the fight reached the halfway point. Conlan had good passages but they were undone when Gill caught him clean with powerful straight shots over his low guard.
The crowd came to life in the sixth when a Conlan uppercut burst through Gill’s guard and now it was time for the Englishman to bite down and hang on.
He did and a minute and nine seconds into the seventh he trapped Conlan in the corner and caught him again. This time there was no way back for the Belfast favourite and referee Foster jumped in to stop it.
The defeat, Conlan’s third stoppage loss in the last 18 months, could signal the end of a career of many highlights including a medal at the London Olympic Games and the World Amateur title. Promotor Eddie Hearn earlier this week made no bones that defeat would spell the end of his boxing career.
In the chief support, a delighted Lewis Crocker roared "I’m the king of Belfast" in triumph after he had beaten out-gunned Tyrone McKenna in a one-sided derby battle that won him the WBA Continental Europe Welterweight title.
There was full-blooded intent from the start from east Belfast native Crocker and he took a deserved unanimous decision over 10 one-sided rounds.
Earlier, Caoimhin Agyarko and Sean McComb both came through the toughest tests of their respective careers to date. Agyarko scored a split-decision win over Troy Williamson while McComb had Sam Maxwell down three times on the way to a career-best unanimous points success.
