Brockton underdog Kevin Walsh has said he’s put his “heart and soul” into getting ready to face Michael Conlan.
The two will fight in Belfast on Friday night at the SSE Arena (formerly the Odyssey), and Walsh has nothing but admiration for Conlan.
“The man of Ireland himself, Michael Conlan,” is how he called his rival in an interview with BoxingScene. “So it’s a dream come true. Hard work and dedication and discipline.
“I’m excited about it. I love this shit. You know, I truly live for this shit. I’m excited about the moment. I’m excited about all the people getting fired up out in Ireland. I’m part Irish myself. So, I love it, man. I feel like it’s going to be exciting, but at the end of the day, I got to stay calm, cool and collected and take care of business on fight night.”
Walsh is 19-0 (10 KOs) and the Massachusetts man understands that while he might have some Irish blood in him, the fans will not be cheering for him on Friday.
“Absolutely,” he smiles. “I’m excited about it, man. I hope that the crowd’s fired up about it as well. I know that there’s going to be a lot more Michael Conlan fans there, but it’s going to be a great walkout.”
Conlan has admitted that if he suffers one more defeat, his career is over. After back-to-back stoppage defeats to Luis Alberto Lopez and Jordan Gill, some have begun to question his punch resistance.
“I guess people say that he’s chinny, but anybody’s chinny when they get hit in the right spot, man, at the right time,” Walsh reasons. “I’m not gonna go in there looking for the knockout. If the knockout comes then the knockout comes. I know that Michael’s been saying a lot, that he’s gonna put on a boxing clinic and he’s gonna try to really outbox me. We just have to see. I’m a great boxer myself and I’m looking forward to proving that come fight night that I’m not just a big puncher. I’m a good boxer as well.”
Walsh sees victory whether he tries to box or slug with Conlan and he believes he’s got that from the experience gleaned on his way to Belfast.
“The fights that I’ve had, they haven’t been easy fights,” he explains. “I guess he has a better resume than me, he’s fought more experienced opponents, but I’ve been doing this for a long time as well. I’ve been fighting since the day I was born and I’m a fighter inside, outside the ring. I feel like I have all the attributes to get the job done. I know Michael Conlan is a very skilled fighter, but I’m in the gym every single day, twice a day. And I’m not overlooking Michael Conlan at all. I know that he’s a great opponent and I feel like the greater the opponent, the better I am, the more I rise to the occasion.”
Walsh has put gang life and spells in prison behind him.
Conlan has lived in the gym since he was a child.
And while Walsh has plenty of admiration for the Irishman, he also has plenty of respect for those who have managed to turn their lives around, as he has seemingly done.
“It’s not easy to turn your life around like that,” he said. “It’s hard for people to have been through that type of stuff and were able to change their life.”
To that end, Walsh is ready for battle but having been through so much he is comfortable embracing his softer side and says he regularly tears up.
“I cry all the time, for sure,” he says. “Especially times like this, leading up to a fight, going up to big fights like this, I get very emotional and I think about everything that I’ve been through. All the people that are rooting for me. It’s a lot and I’m an emotional guy for sure.
“I know that when it comes to fight night, all the emotions, I throw them out the window though. I’m a warrior at heart. But I feel like my emotions and the way that I am definitely helps me in the ring. I put my heart and soul into this every single day. It’s definitely an emotional process for me.”
