Michael Conlan was on the verge of pulling out of his must-win bout in the World Series of Boxing before opting to fight and claiming a dramatic win to book his place at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games alongside team-mate Paddy Barnes. Both Belfast boxers (bronze medallists at London 2012), were in action for the Italia Thunder franchise in Venezuela on Saturday night, with the pair needing victories to book flights to Rio. Barnes delivered in style, extending his undefeated WSB record this season to 7-0 with a split-decision points win over native light-flyweight Yoel Finol. Michael Conlan has booked his Olympic place after results went his way in Venezuela on Saturday night . The two-time Olympic medallist dropped his opponent in the first round en route to claiming a 49-45 victory on two of the judges’ cards while the remaining judge questionably scored the fight 48-47 in Finol’s favour. The spilt-decision win was enough to help Barnes top the 49kg WSB rankings, with the Ardoyne native leapfrogging Uzbekistan’s Hasanboy Dusmatov to claim the only Olympic qualification spot on offer through the competition. Conlan’s mission was a far more complex affair, however. Not only did the Falls Road fighter need to win — which he did, earning a 49-46 unanimous points win over Venezuelan opponent José Vicente Azocar — but he also had to rely on a shock result elsewhere. The 23-year-old leapt to No 2 in the WSB bantamweight rankings, claiming the second 56kg Olympic spot on offer thanks to his win and the fact that Azerbaijan’s Magomed Gurbanov lost to Luis Mora Hector Garcia in Puerto Rico. Garcia had Gurbanov down in the fifth and final round of their bout as the Puerto Rican became a cult hero for Irish boxing, akin to Scottish footballer Gary Mackay who booked a place at Euro ’88 for Jack Charlton’s Ireland side thanks to a goal against Bulgaria. The domino effect left Conlan in shock. The Belfast bantamweight was close to pulling out in frustration at his qualification limbo, and had all but made up his mind to turn professional in the near future before a dramatic U-turn. Conlan’s brother, Jamie, himself a promising professional boxer, was just one of the confidantes who contacted him to convince him to fight. Coaches Billy Walsh and John Conlan (Michael’s father) also played key roles in helping the boxer into the ring, continuing their sterling efforts throughout the competition. Both Conlan and Barnes won bronze at London 2012, and will now represent Ireland again in Rio . ‘It hasn’t sunk it yet. I couldn’t believe it. I wasn’t really up for it [the fight] at all because I didn’t think the Azeri would lose,’ said Conlan, speaking exclusively to Sportsmail. ‘I was thinking about pulling out [on Friday]. If I had’ve pulled out I would have been shattered now, lucky enough I didn’t. ‘If I hadn’t have qualified, I would have turned professional. I couldn’t be bothered going to [qualify through] the European Games after going through all of this. ‘When I got out of the ring, Paddy ran over and jumped on me and shouted, “you’ve qualified” and I said “you’re lying to me, stop lying to me!” I nearly felt like crying, I just couldn’t believe it.’ Conlan dedicated the result and his achievements to his girlfriend, Shauna and four-week old daughter, Luisne. ‘I really wanted to qualify to have time with her and my kid. I’ve been looking forward to doing the night feeds and all! The main reason I’ve done this is for her, I’m just so happy it all paid off.’ Barnes, meanwhile, has created history by becoming the first Irish boxer ever to qualify for three Olympics. The 28-year-old had battled his fear of flying throughout his WSB mission, with Barnes and Conlan travelling over 34,000 miles over the course of seven WSB bouts. The ex-European champion now plans on taking an extended break until later in the year after an exhausting campaign which ended in glory. ‘I’m over the moon, can’t get any better. I won’t even care about the flight because I know I’ve done it now — I won’t be flying around the place any more anyway!’ he said. Barnes, in quite colourful language, also told Sportsmail that both he and Conlan had to overcome upset stomachs to compete. Despite that, the pair’s glory run continues unabated.
Michael Conlan and Paddy Barnes both win to reach Rio 2016 games.
Conlan won his fight but had to rely on other results to make it through.
Irishman dedicated his win to his girlfriend after fighting despite illness.