Michael Conlan, TJ Doheny Fights For WBA Interim Featherweight World Title On August 6

Michael Conlan is slated to face TJ Doheny on Friday for the WBA interim featherweight world title in front of his hometown, Falls Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland.

And Conlan is looking to snatch the title.

Conlan (15-0, 8 KOs) is aiming to author a career-best victory Friday against Doheny (22-2, 16 KOs), a former junior featherweight world champion. The Irish boxers were scheduled to fight in a 10-round contest, but it has been elevated into a 12-rounder world title bout.

“It’s an all-Irish fight, the biggest all-Irish fight in the last 40 years or so,” Conlan said in a Top Rank press release. “What I’m really excited for is that TJ will have his own fan base, and I’ll have my massive fan base out here in Belfast. It will make a difference from my last fights.

“I’m really excited. I’ve been putting the work in, and I know what I need to do,” he added.

‼️ FIGHT WEEK BABY ‼️

Big week ahead, follow @ConlanBoxing for all fight week info and updates. Let’s goooooooo! 💥🥊🇮🇪 #TheConlanRevolution #ConlanDoheny pic.twitter.com/xCYg0NbpZI

— Michael Conlan (@mickconlan11) August 2, 2021

A win on Friday could mark Conlan – who’s also a two-time Olympian – as a world champion caliber boxer, making his statement right around the corner from where he grew up.

Conlan, 29, most recently defeated Ionut Baluta in April, extending his untouched win streak. After the fight, the boxer noted his opponent was “tougher” than he thought, but it was a good fight and good “preparation for what is to come,” DAZN news reported.

Doheny, 34, is 1-2 in his last three fights, including a unanimous decision loss to Baluta in March 2020. In January 2019, he notched a victory via TKO against Ryohei Takahashi.

Conlan-Doheny will stream live in the United States on ESPN+. The scheduled five-fight stream will start at 3 p.m. ET/12 p.m. PT on Friday.

Here’s the lineup for the stream:

• Michael Conlan vs. TJ Doheny, 12 rounds, vacant WBA Interim Featherweight World Title
• Lee McGregor vs. Vincent Legrand, 12 rounds, McGregor’s European Bantamweight Title
• Tyrone McKenna vs. Jose Felix, 10 rounds, vacant WBO Intercontinental Jr. Welterweight Title
• Paddy Donovan vs. TBA, 6 rounds, welterweight
• Sergei Gorokhov vs. Padraig McCrory, 10 rounds, Gorokhov’s WBC International Silver Super Middleweight Title