From the 'lowest of lows to highest of highs', Adam Booth believes Michael Conlan experienced the full gamut of emotions this year.
The 31-year-old featherweight brought the curtain down on 2022 with a devastating first-round stoppage of Karim Guerfi on Saturday night.
Conlan blitzed his French opponent inside 154 seconds to send fans home happy from Belfast's SSE Arena.
Read more: Lewis Crocker set for busy schedule as Adam Booth outlines plans
It was the reverse nine months previous, with Conlan enduring a Nottingham nightmare at the hands of Leigh Wood.
Seconds away from realising his world title dream, the Falls Road boxer was knocked unconscious through the ropes in the final throes of the last round.
Asked to reflect on Conlan's year, trainer Booth said: "The lowest of the lows, and now we're back on the highest of the highs.
"Hopefully there will be more highs in 2023. And I believe this time next year we will be saying 'what a year that's been'."
Conlan is expected to return on St Patrick's Day, but whether a world title will be on the line remains uncertain.
Potential opponents include new IBF World featherweight champion Luis Alberto Lopez - who beat Josh Warrington at the weekend - and Isaac Dogboe, who could challenge Conlan for a vacant WBO belt.
Booth insists he has no preference for his fighter.
"I don't care who Mick fights for a world title. I just want him to fulfil his ambition to become world champion. I don't care who it is against," he said.
"He has learned so much this year. We didn't think he was going to flatten Leigh Wood in the first round, and then spend the next six rounds one punch away from getting rid of him.
"What he learned there was how to manage the energy in those moments. That was the take from that. But from a technical standpoint Mick dominated that fight.
"But he spent a lot of energy, and Leigh Wood showed heart and guts."
Booth had little time to assess Conlan on Saturday night, with the fight ending before he barely had time to settle in the corner.
But the coach admits he saw enough of Conlan in camp to suggest progress is being made.
"My assessment of Mick will be what he did in his preparation for Saturday's fight. He took everything to a new level again," Booth said.
"There is still progression in everything we are working on, and it is just nice to get a fast finish.
"It is funny because I usually settle down in the first round and check if my fighter is getting into a rhythm and not giving anything away. Not forcing it or making simple mistakes.
"And then halfway through that the fight is over.
"I have seen him land that straight left hand so many times, and it is so piercing. When he lands it on that sweet spot, everyone feels it.
"I have always said he is a world-class body puncher, and he is. He is still perfecting how to be dangerous to the head and he didn't get the chance to show that tonight as it was the body shot that led to the finish."
READ NEXT:
- Lewis Crocker set for busy schedule as Adam Booth outlines plans
Conlan outlines world title plans after Guerfi demolition job
Michael Conlan vs Karim Guerfi as it happened at the SSE Arena
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