Referee Steve Gray paid homage to fellow referee Mills Lane, who died Tuesday, by saying Mills' traditional catchphrase "let's get it on" seconds before Michael Conlan and Karim Guerfi squared off on Saturday.
Conlan apparently took Gray's instructions to heart and continued his comeback campaign in spectacular style by scoring a sensational first-round knockout victory.
The two-time Irish Olympian and former WBA interim featherweight titleholder Conlan (18-1, 9 KOs) wasted little time by banging and blasting Guerfi (31-7, 9 KOs) with an unanswered barrage of blows to land the KO win with 26 seconds remaining in the opening frame.
Conlan first connected with a straight left to the stomach of the 38-year-old Guerfi, forcing the Frenchman to stumble against the ropes. As soon as he saw his opponent hurt, Conlan pounced and fired off a shoeshine flurry to the body and to the head to score the sensational finish.
Guerfi got up from the attack, but his legs were gone, and he stumbled several feet into the corner, as referee Steve Gray ran up to save him from falling before waving off the fight.
“It felt great,” Conlan said in his post-fight interview. “Every shot made him wince. I knew I was hurting him. It was only a matter of time. This is an early Christmas present to myself. I love Christmas, so Merry Christmas everybody.”
The 126-pound bout scheduled for ten rounds headlined a card at The SSE Arena (Odyssey Arena) in Conlan’s hometown of Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. It was streamed on ESPN+.
The win marked the first time Conlan has scored a first-round knockout win since turning professional in 2017.
The 31-year-old Conlan was trending upward until his career was derailed earlier this year when he suffered his first professional defeat in a shocking 12th-round technical knockout loss to Leigh Wood in March.
Conlan was ahead on all three scorecards at the time of the stoppage in the fight-of-the-year contender. Conlan was knocked out of the ring with less than two minutes remaining in the bout.
The southpaw Conlan made sure his showcase against Guerfi was drama free this time around.
Conlan first bounced back in August with a ten-round unanimous decision win against Miguel Marriaga. Conlan dropped Marriaga three times in the matchup.
Guerfi has now lost three out of his last five fights.
Conlan said he plans on fighting again in March around St. Patrick’s Day.
Conlan could perhaps entertain options against Top Rank stablemates Emanuel Navarrete, Robeisy Ramirez, and Joet Gonzalez in 2023 as he embarks on another shot for a world title.
Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer and broadcast reporter. He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan, via email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com or on www.ManoukAkopyan.com.