Michael Conlan has explained the full reason why his coach Adam Booth threw in the towel during last Saturday's world title fight with Luis Alberto Lopez.
Booth waved the contest off in the fifth round after Conlan had been floored by a vicious uppercut.
To many observers it appeared that Booth was saving his fighter from any more punishment, as the blow had momentarily left Conlan sprawled on the canvas.
Read more: Carl Frampton fears for big-time boxing in Belfast following Michael Conlan loss
But the 31-year-old says there was more to the decision.
“It wasn’t even the knockdown or how I was,” Conlan told the Sunday Life.
“Adam knew I wasn’t doing anything we’d planned to do. I wasn’t following any type of game plan and he said to be in the round before, ‘Listen, I’m going to stop this if you don’t wise up and start doing what you’re meant to be doing’.
“Adam asked if I was okay and I said, ‘Yeah’, but really I was somewhere else."
Conlan says he can't explain why he had such an off night in what was the biggest fight of his career.
He added: “For some reason - and I don’t know why - it was the first time in my whole career I’ve felt that way. I was just off and can’t explain why.
“It wasn’t preparation or any issues like that as I’d done everything I needed to do. Unfortunately, things went wrong on the night.
“I didn’t follow the game plan and things went wrong on the night and I lost.”
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