Michael Conlan will take some time to decide "what the next steps are" for his career after being knocked out by Luis Alberto Lopez.
Conlan, 31, was stopped in his featherweight world title fight against Lopez at the SSE Arena in Belfast on Saturday night. 10,000 fans packed into the arena to watch Conlan in his second effort at a world title and the Olympic bronze medalist was faring well in the fight, but was ultimately dropped and stopped when Lopez connected with a huge uppercut in the fifth round.
It marks Conlan's second knockout loss in his past four fights and the Irishman has now released a statement after his defeat that read: "Congratulations to Lopez on a great performance. I wish you all the best in the future champion. Thank you for the opportunity. Thanks to everyone who reached out and wished me luck, I can’t get back to you all but I appreciate it.
