Michael Conlan stops Jack Bateson with stunning KO

Conlan floors Bateson near the end of round four at packed 3Arena

Michael Conlan (20-3, 10 KOs) floored Jack Bateson (20-2-1, 6 KOs) with a single shot in his first professional fight in Dublin, last night, Friday September 5, 2025.

After already touching down once in the third, the finish came in round four as Conlan was pressing the action. He threw a swiping left hook that didn't land, then he countered Bateson's jab with a sharp jab of his own, then he threw another jab which opened up Bateson's guard, lowering his lead left hand, which left him wide open to a huge right hand that instantly dropped him.

The 31-year-old from Leeds rose to his feet but referee Robert Verwijs rightfully waved it off with 10 seconds in the fourth remaining.

It was a stunning display of speed and power from 'Irish Mick', who has really announced his comeback to put the featherweight division on full alert.

It was the Belfast boxer's 10th KO from 20 victories and first stoppage win in 33 months. It was back in December 2022 when Conlan knocked out Frenchman Karim Guerfi in the first round of their Belfast battle.

The 33-year-old Irishman plans one last run at a world title shot. Picking up the WBC International title in this 23rd bout of his eight-year pro career will see his position rise from 17th in the world rankings to possibly breaking into the top 15.

His next target will inevitably be a world-ranked fighter, with his time in the sport dwindling, there will be a need for haste.

The likes of domestic opponents Liam Davies (WBC #13) and Nathaniel Collins (WBC #1) lie ahead of him in the rankings. There's also Interim champions Bruce Carrington (WBC) and Mirco Cuello (WBA) that could be future targets for the Olympian.

Featherweight World Champions

WBC: Stephen Fulton WBA: Nick Ball IBF: Angelo Leo WBO: Rafael Espinoza IBO : Dayan Gonzalez

WBC Top 15

Champion: Stephen Fulton

1. Nathaniel Collins 2. Brandon Figueroa 3. Omar Trinidad 4. Carlos Castro 5. Mikito Nakano 6. Sulaiman Segawa 7. Reiya Abe 8. Joet Gonzalez 9. Otabek Kholmatov 10. Cristobal Lorente 11. Tomoki Kameda 12. Lerato Dlamini 13. Liam Davies 14. Robeisy Ramirez 15. Ryuto Owan

16. Ra'eese Aleem 17. Michael Conlan