Michael Conlan Says He Didn’t Follow Gameplan In Loss To Luis Alberto Lopez

Michael Conlan admits he didn’t fight smart in his loss to Luis Alberto Lopez.

Conlan was set to fight for the world title for the second time in his career and many thought he would get his hand raised against Lopez. Yet, that isn’t what happened as Conlan had success early on but in the fifth round, he got caught by an uppercut that knocked him out.

According to Conlan, he says before the fight even began he was in the wrong mentally.

“I didn’t perform. That wasn’t anywhere near the type of performance I put on. I just didn’t feel like I was myself in there at all. I can’t complain as the training camp was perfect. The preparation was really good and unlike the Wood one where I had Covid before, there was nothing this time. I was flying, everything went well, but on the night everything just went out the window and I went blank,” Conlan detailed to the Belfast Telegraph.

“Things I never do in any fight like going to have a firefight with a guy you shouldn’t be doing it with and have much better boxing ability than… it was a weird one,” Conlan said. “My head wasn’t right and things didn’t feel right when I was warming up. I don’t know what it was, I can’t put my finger on it. I felt off and that there was something up. I didn’t know what it was — I just wasn’t myself and it showed.”

According to Michael Conlan, he says his cornerman knew he wasn’t all there mentally and they threatened to stop it before the fifth round.

“It wasn’t even the knockdown or how I was. Adam knew I wasn’t doing anything we’d planned to do. I wasn’t following any type of game plan and he said to me in the round before, ‘Listen, I’m going to stop this if you don’t wise up and start doing what you’re meant to be doing’. Adam asked if I was okay and I said, ‘Yeah’, but really I was somewhere else,” Conlan said. “For some reason — and I don’t know why — it was the first time in my whole career I’ve felt that way. I was just off and can’t explain why. It wasn’t preparation or any issues like that as I’d done everything I needed to do. Unfortunately, things went wrong on the night. I didn’t follow the game plan and things went wrong on the night and I lost.”

Were you surprised Michael Conlan lost?