Undefeated Irish boxing star Michael “Mick” Conlan will continue his rise in the featherweight division when he takes on unbeaten Russian Vladimir Nikitin at the Madison Square Gard in New York as part of the Terence Crawford vs. Mean Machine Triple-header on December 14, live on ESPN.
Conlan (12-0, 7 KOs) was the favorite to take home a Gold medal at the 2016 summer Olympics in Rio, but he fell short of the title when he lost a controversial decision against Vladimir Nikitin in the semifinals.
The decision was such a disgrace that Conlan stuck two middle fingers up and flipped the birds at the judges.
Tonight 28-year-old prospect will have a chance at revenge when he takes on the man who got the controversial decision over him.
Nikitin (3-0, 0 KOs) went on to receive the Bronze medal after he defeated Conlan in the 2016 Olympic games. He wasn’t able to win the Gold medal and many who witnessed the bout felt Conlan would have had a better chance at Gold if he advanced instead of Nikitin.
Now that the 29-year-old Russian Olympian turned pro, he is eager to prove the boxing world wrong and defeat Conlan in a rematch in the pro ranks. To show the world he didn’t receive a gift decision over the Irish boxer.
Conlan will have the power and pro experience over Nikitin who has zero knockouts in 3 fights.
Stylistically Conlan will give his Russian opponent trouble with his southpaw stance. Nikitin is a come forward fighter but he could wind up getting countered by Conlan with serious power shots.
Conlan is motivated to get revenge and he is ready to go for the knockout and not leave it in the judges hands tonight.
Main Card
Terence Crawford vs. Egidijus Kavaliauskas
Richard Commey vs. Teofimo Lopez
Mick Conlan vs. Vladimir Nikitin
Date and Time
Saturday, December 14, 2019 at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m PT on ESPN and online through ESPN+ live streaming service.
