By Geno McGahee
“Irish” Michael Conlan, 13-0, 7 KO’s, got revenge over Olympic rival, Vladimir Nikitin, 3-1, dominating the smaller opponent over the course of 10 rounds and taking the unanimous decision by scores of 98-92, 99-91 and 100-90. Conlan used his superior reach and jab to control the early rounds and then elected to trade late, as Nikitin slowed down considerably. Nikitin was never a threat. His punches were too pitty-pat, a sign of too many amateur fights, while Conlan has matured into a good professional fighter.
There were moments where Nikitin was really rocked, but he was able to hang in there and make it to the final bell, but he didn’t have any effectiveness in the fight. Conlan can now move onto bigger and better things after exorcizing this ghost from his life.
