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Michael Conlan vs. Miguel Marriaga: Betting Preview, Odds, Picks & Prediction (2022)

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The SSE Arena in Belfast, Ireland, will play host this Saturday for a battle of featherweights, both looking to rebound from recent losses. The favorite is a Belfast native in “Mick” Conlan, as he will look to handle business against the aging Miguel Marriaga.

Let’s take a closer look at where things are heading and how they could end come Saturday night in Ireland.

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Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook 

Michael Conlan (16-1-0, 8 KOs) vs. Miguel Marriaga (30-5-0, 26 KOs)

At 35 years of age, Marriaga will enter the ring with nearly double the amount of professional fights as his opponent. To this point, he’s primarily known as a boxer who “almost” was a champion, failing all three times in championship bouts.

The last time we saw in a ring was another loss in December, this time to Eduardo Ramirez in Los Angeles. Known for his body punches, Marriaga’s power can not be overlooked, as he has finished 26 of his 35 opponents inside the distance, with 87% of his wins coming via KO.

As for his challenger, Conlan will step into the ring in front of his hometown fans on Saturday, looking to get back on track following his first career loss in March. In the 12th round knockout to Leigh Wood, Conlan was in the fight into the later rounds before fading late and getting caught clean in the 12th and final round.

With the loss, Conlan lost out on his shot for a WBA featherweight belt, something he’ll be using this fight as a starting point to get back to. With some of the quickest hands in this weight class, Conlan is undoubtedly the future, but how he responds Saturday could prove critical in just how bright it is.

Bottom Line

For boxing fans, all eyes will be on Ireland Saturday afternoon here in the United States, as the young upstart Conlan must respond here if he wants to get back on his championship-level trajectory. And I think that’s precisely what we see.

While you can never be too sure how a fighter will respond following their first professional loss, from what I have seen of Conlan, I think we see him respond in spades and get this one done. In front of what is sure to be a raucous home crowd, I look for the Irishman to do his best to finish this one inside the distance.

Pick: Michael Conlan Inside the Distance +250

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