Background
He was initially coached by his father and Sean McCafferty, a former Olympian.
He was initially coached by his father and Sean McCafferty, a former Olympian.
Conlan started boxing at the Saint John Bosco Boxing Club in Belfast, and represented Northern Ireland and Ireland at international level At 13 years of age, he had his first competitive fight, marking the start of a successful amateur career. Conlan turned professional with amateur record of 11 losses in 118 fights.
Conlan turned professional in 2009.
His first bout came against British fighter Anwar Alfadli, who he defeated on points. In April 2014, he acquired the WBO European Super Flyweight title with a victory over Benjamin Smoes at the Odyssey Arena in Belfast.
Conlan outclassed the Belgian fighter and knocked him down in the sixth, before an inevitable seventh round knockout. In September, he defeated Mexico"s Jose Estrella to land the WBO Inter-Continental belt.
In 2015, Conlan announced he would be leaving Belfast and longtime trainer John Breen.
Instead, he would begin fighting out Macklin"s Gym Marbella, where he is now trained by Danny Vaughan.