Featherweight prospect Michael Conlan, fresh from a seventh-round knockout of Nicola Cipolletta on Saturday night, will be back in action quickly.
Conlan, the popular two-time Irish Olympian, will appear in a featured fight on the undercard of Josh Warrington's featherweight world title defense against Carl Frampton on Dec. 22 (ESPN+) at Manchester Arena in Manchester, England, promoter Frank Warren announced Monday.
Conlan is promoted by Top Rank, but the company has a deal with Warren to stream most of his cards on ESPN+ as part of its long-term deal with ESPN.
With Conlan looking to fight in the United States as well as the United Kingdom, Top Rank and Warren worked together to make that happen while also strengthening the overall card. Conlan does not yet have an opponent for the fight.
Conlan (9-0, 6 KOs), 26, of Northern Ireland, broke down Cipolletta (14-7-2, 4 KOs), 30, of Italy, and stopped him with an accumulation of blows in the seventh round in perhaps his most compete performance as a pro at the Park MGM in Las Vegas. Conlan came away with no injuries and was pleased to be added officially to the Manchester card.
"I am really excited to be fighting on the same card as my stablemate and friend, Carl Frampton," said Conlan, who shares a management team with Frampton. "I am looking to step up in class and reach 10-0 as a pro by Christmas. The 'Conlan Revolution' rolls into Manchester!"
Conlan has mostly fought in the United States, but this will the second time in three bouts he will fight in the United Kingdom. He boxed on another Warren-promoted card in his hometown of Belfast, Northern Ireland, in June and won an eight-round decision over former junior featherweight world title challenger Adeilson Dos Santos.
Top Rank expects to continue to schedule him regularly in the U.K.
"Ideally, you want to promote him in both places, and being on a card like the Warrington-Frampton card makes sense for everyone's purposes," Top Rank vice president Carl Moretti said. "Say he fights four times next year, I would think at least one of them would be in Europe."