Conlan takes win in home fight at Belfast’s Falls Park

Belfast boxer Michael Conlan continued his winnings ways on his return home, headlining at Féile An Phobail’s fight night in Falls Park.

A huge crowd turned out at the west Belfast venue to see Conlan take on Argentinian featherweight Diego Alberto Ruiz.

The hometown star controlled the fight before knocking Ruiz to his knees on the mat in the ninth round – just before the bout was stopped following a further flurry of body shots.

Conlan was clearly delighted to take the win by TKO in front of the loud Belfast crowd.

There was also a much-needed win for fellow Belfast boxer and Olympian Paddy Barnes as he returned to flyweight.

Barnes had previously contemplated retirement after facing defeat against Cristofer Rosales at Windsor Park and again in New York City against Oscar Mojica.

But he stepped back into the ring at Falls Park to take on Joel Sanchez over six rounds and walked away with the points victory.

However, Paddy Gallagher was left disappointed when he narrowly lost out to Welshman Chris Jenkins in his bid for the Commonwealth Welterweight title.

The decision proved controversial with fans claiming the Belfast man had been “robbed”.

Jenkins was awarded the win when the fight was stopped in the ninth over cuts to his eyes that the referee deemed to be due to “unintentional fouls” by Gallagher.

In the battle for the BUI Celtic super-middleweight belt, Belfast’s Padraig McCrory stopped Dubliner Steve Collins Jnr in the eighth and final round.

Meanwhile, amid the rest of the undercard action, Belfast’s Sean McComb took another win to remain undefeated after facing French journeyman Rénald Garrido.