Serge Michel appears to have his sights already set on the Golden Contract final – branding Liam Conroy as a ‘warm-up fight’ ahead of their light-heavyweight semi-final later this month.
The two men will meet on a massive card on September 30, which will be broadcast live in the UK on Sky Sports in association with Matchroom Boxing, and live in the US on ESPN+ in association with Top Rank.
Michel (10-1, 7 KOs) received the Golden Ball during last week’s draw and decided to pick Conroy (18-5-1, 9 KOs), and the German is in an extremely confident mood.
Michel said: “I never expected the Golden Ball to stay inside the bag until the end, so I guess God’s hand was in the game in my favour.
“I haven’t been in the ring since December when it was the quarter-finals, and Liam Conroy will be a good warm-up for me before the finals.
“My coach and father will study Liam and I trust and listen to what is said. Of course, together with my coach, I’ll take a look at one of the other fights of Conroy and then we will set up our plan.
“I will come to England as a guest and I expect a tough fight and no gifts. I have trained hard for this and I will win clearly and convincingly.
“I think these last few months were not easy for everyone, but I never lost sight of my goal and the goal is to win the tournament. This forced break makes me even more hungry for this fight than ever.”
The semi-final between Conroy vs. Michel take places on the undercard of the #GoldenContract super-lightweight and featherweight finals, as Ohara Davies faces Tyrone McKenna, and Ryan Walsh takes on Jazza Dickens.
The other light-heavyweight semi-final sees Hosea Burton travel to Latvia to take on Ricards Bolotniks on September 26, with that fight broadcast live on IFL TV.