Michael Conlan suffered another big career setback after his seventh-round stoppage loss to Jordan Gill in Belfast.
The 32-year-old was knocked down in the second round and Gill piled on the punches in the seventh round to prompt the intervention of the referee as Conlan endured back-to-back defeats in his home city.
The Irish boxer said he “will take some time out” after the defeat which could prove to be the end of his career.
The Northern Irishman’s seventh-round stoppage by Gill came after world title defeats by Leigh Wood and Luis Alberto Lopez over the past 20 months.
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Speaking after the Belfast bout on Twitter/X, Conlan said: “Tonight just wasn’t my night.
“Congratulations to Jordan Gill who was victorious tonight.”
Conlan added: “Belfast, as always, thank you from the bottom of my heart for turning out in your numbers again.
“I’m going to take some time out and be with my family.”
Promoter Eddie Hearn said the Belfast man now faces “a long way back if you want to come back and start winning world titles”.
“He’ll make his own decisions but he’s also a guy that wants to operate at world level.
“He lost for the world title last time out and now he got stopped again at world level but borderline world level. It’s a massive blow.”
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