Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Belfast Live
Belfast Live
Sport
Gareth Fullerton

Carl Frampton stops pundit in his tracks after Michael Conlan 'Brit' reference

Carl Frampton comically stopped Steve Bunce in his tracks after he referred to Michael Conlan as being a British fighter ahead of Saturday's world title fight in Belfast.

Conlan took on Luis Alberto Lopez for the Mexican's IBF featherweight title at the SSE Arena.

It was heartbreak for the Falls Road man, however, as Lopez defended his crown with a sensational fifth-round stoppage.

Read more: Michael Conlan reacts to World title heartache as he outlines next plans

BT Sport pundit Bunce was ringside for the fight, alongside former two-weight world champion Frampton who was also working at the show.

Revered boxing aficionado Bunce referenced a stat that 14 of the last 18 IBF World title fights in the featherweight division involved British fighters.

Michael Conlan (INPHO/Presseye/William Cherry)

And he said Conlan could continue that trend.

"This is our division. This is a British division. We could make this 28, he could have 10 defences of this," Bunce declared in trademark emphatic style.

That prompted the Jackal to joke: "You've already gone to meme level there for calling Mick Conlan a Brit."

Bunce replied: "That's blown my chances of being invited to the after party."

Bunce's reference came moments before Conlan walked to the ring to the famous Irish ballad 'Grace', which pays tribute to Grace Gifford who married Joseph Mary Plunkett in the chapel at Kilmainham Gaol in Dublin just hours before the latter was executed by a firing squad for his part in the 1916 Rising.

BT Sport presenter Paul Dempsey offered some comical diplomacy to Bunce's stat, adding: "British and Irish, you meant to say..."

Unfortunately, Conlan lost out in his second world title bid after being stopped in the fifth round by Lopez.

It has left the 31-year-old considering his next move in boxing.

READ NEXT:

Sign up to our f ree sports newsletter to get the latest headlines to your inbox.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.