Ireland's Michael Conlan, who competed at the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Olympic Games, will have a world title fight in his crosshairs if he can get past Ionut Baluta on the undercard of the Moruti Mthalane vs. Sunny Edwards IBF flyweight championship contest.
The 29-year-old, undefeated as a professional so far, faces Romania's Baluta over 10 rounds at super-bantamweight in a fight that could cement him as being ready for champions at the weight class, an exclusive club that currently includes unbeaten competitors such as Luis Nery, Stephen Fulton Jr. and Murodjon Akhmadaliev.
His promoter Bob Arum recently admitted that he sees a Conlan title challenge selling out New York's Madison Square Garden in the latter half of 2021, when COVID-19 pandemic restrictions are hoped to mostly be lifted.
"Mick will fight around the start of May and then the plan will be to move for the world title shot," said Arum, as reported by The Belfast Telegraph. "We could put that on in Madison Square Garden and he would fill it up.
"I'm very encouraged that the pandemic will be abated in the States because we are now looking that by the end of May there will be enough vaccines to inoculate all of the population. So, by June we can start doing events with full capacity."
If that plan goes ahead, a horde of Irish fight fans would be expected to head across the Atlantic for the big night. However, getting past Baluta is as critical a part of the plan as being allowed to sell tickets indoors by that stage.
Here's everything you need to know about the entire fight card, including Conlan vs. Baluta and Mthalane vs. Edwards.
When is Conlan vs. Baluta? Date, start time
- Date : Friday, April 30
- Time : 7 p.m. BST/2 p.m. ET
- Main event (approx) : 10:30 p.m. BST/5:30 p.m. ET
Coverage of the fight card begins at 19:00 local time in London, which is 14:00 on the East coast of the United States. Main event ringwalks are anticipated around 22:30 local time, which means Conlan and Baluta in chief support are likely around 21:30 BST/16:30 ET.
As ever with boxing, however, the exact start of the contests will depend on how long those before it run.
What channel/stream is Conlan vs. Baluta?
- U.K. : BT Sport 1
- U.S.: ESPN+
Where is the Conlan vs. Baluta fight?
The card takes place at London's iconic fight sport venue York Hall in Bethnal Green, East London. The venue will be fully up to date on the latest COVID-19 protocol.
Michael Conlan record and bio
- Nationality : Irish
- Date of birth : November 19, 1991
- Height : 5'8"
- Reach : 69"
- Total fights : 14
- Record : 14-0, 8 KOs
Ionut Baluta record and bio
- Nationality : Romanian
- Date of birth : December 19, 1993
- Height : 5'10 1/2"
- Reach : 73"
- Total fights : 16
- Record : 14-2, 3 KOs
Apr. 30 card in full
- Moruti Mthalane (c) vs Sunny Edwards IBF flyweight championship
- Michael Conlan vs Ionut Baluta, super-bantamweight
- Troy Williamson vs Kieran Smith, super-welterweight
- Ryan Garner vs Paul Holt, super-featherweight
- Joshua Frankham vs Naheem Ali, super-welterweight