Michael Conlan will finally realise a long-held ambition on 5 September when he headlines at Dublin’s 3Arena in a ten-round bout with Jack Bateson for the vacant WBC International featherweight title. The contest, announced by Wasserman Boxing, positions the winner for a return to the world-rankings conversation and marks Conlan’s first professional appearance in the Irish capital after a decorated amateur career there.
Conlan (20-3, 1 KO) climbed off the canvas of two painful stoppage defeats - first to then-IBF champion Luis Alberto Lopez and later to Jordan Gill - by out-pointing the durable Asad Asif Khan over eight rounds in Brighton last March, his first outing under a multi-fight deal with Wasserman. Now 33, the Belfast man says the setbacks have rekindled his motivation. “I boxed countless times in Dublin as an amateur,” he explained in the official release, “so to fight here as a pro is genuinely exciting. Jack and I have shared many sparring rounds, and he poses a real threat to my world-title plans. But with the Dublin fans behind me I can make this a special night on the road back to the top.”
Watch Conlan vs. Jill highlights: Watch
Bateson (20-1-1, 6 KOs) suffered his lone professional loss in a dramatic final-round stoppage to Shabaz Masoud in late 2022, then pieced together three victories before a clash of heads curtailed his IBF/WBO European super-bantamweight meeting with Danny Quartermaine last December. The Leeds southpaw embraces the away challenge. “Fighting Conlan in Ireland would crumble some fighters,” he said. “I’m confident and entering my peak years. I’ve tasted defeat, learned from it and grown stronger. On 5 September I intend to deliver a massive away win.”
The undercard deepens Wasserman’s pitch for a significant Irish occasion. Former WBC flyweight champion Charlie Edwards (20-2, 7 KOs) returns six months after dropping a split decision to Andrew Cain. Local interest will swell for the unbeaten welterweight clash between Ben Marksby (12-0, 2 KOs) and hometown favourite Senan Kelly (10-0, 2 KOs).
Promoter Kalle Sauerland described Conlan-Bateson as “a big fight that leads to other big fights,” and with the WBC International belt up for grabs the stakes cannot be overstated: victory would give either man a foothold on the sanctioning body’s ladder and a pathway back into world-title contention.
Fight card:
▪️Michael Conlan vs. Jack Bateson, 10 rounds, for the vacant WBC International featherweight title
▪️Ben Marksby vs. Senan Kelly, 10 rounds, super lightweight
▪️Charlie Edwards vs. TBA, 10 rounds, super flyweight
▪️Glenn Byrne vs. Charly Lopez, 8 rounds, for the vacant Boxing Union of Ireland Celtic super welterweight title
▪️Dean Walsh vs. Jamil Elo, 8 rounds, super welterweight
▪️Kevin Cronin vs. Grant Dennis, 6 rounds, super middleweight
▪️Paul Loonam vs. TBA, 6 rounds, super bantamweight
▪️Gerard Hughes vs. TBA, 4 rounds, super bantamweight
