Conlan "in no rush" to fight for world title

Michael Conlan says he is "in no rush" to fight for a world title as he prepares for his bout against Kenny Guzman in Arizona.

The 2012 Olympic bronze medal winner, 25, has won all three of his fights as a professional by knockout, and takes on Montana-based Guzman, 30, at the Tucson Arena, Arizona in the early hours of Saturday morning, live on BoxNation at 2am.

And Conlan says he has no intention of following in the footsteps of fellow former amateur world champion Vasyl Lomachenko, who boxed for the WBO featherweight world title in only his second professional fight, and won the belt in his third bout by beating Gary Russell Jr in June 2014.

Conlan, who fights on the undercard of the Lomachenko vs Guillermo Rigondeaux bout in Madison Square Garden on 9 December, says he intends to follow a more circuitous path to a world title than the Ukrainian double Olympic gold medal winner.

"I am in no rush," Conlan told the Obviously Fight Talk podcast.

"Lomanchenko was in a rush because he had two Olympic Games and he was a lot older than me, around 26 or 27. 

"He was a two-time Olympic champions so he obviously had top, top pedigree.

"He is obviously one of the best amateur boxers of all time, I am not in his same league, that I can jump into a world title fight within three fights. 

"I can take my time. I am young. I have time on my side and I have youth on my side. There is no point in me rushing. It is just boxing at the end of the day and you have got to make your money on the way up."

The Conlan v Guzman bout is on the undercard of two world title fights taking place at the Tucson Convention Centre, all of which will be shown live on BoxNation in the early hours of Saturday, 23 September [2am start].

WBO World Super-Middleweight champion Gilberto Ramirez meets mandatory challenger Jesse Hart, while Oscar Valdez defends his WBO Featherweight belt against undefeated Genesis Servania.

Image: Getty Images/Josh Lefkowitz

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