Former unified world champion Ryan Burnett believes Michael Conlan's choice of opponent for his comeback fight proves the Belfast boxer's bulletproof mentality.
Conlan takes on tough Colombian Miguel Marriaga at the SSE Arena on Saturday night, his first outing since suffering a devastating knockout defeat to Leigh Wood back in March.
Marriaga has stopped 26 of his opponents so far, and has previously shared the ring with pound-for-pound great Vasyl Lomachenko.
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Former IBF and WBA bantamweight world champion Burnett was an interested spectator at yesterday's public workout at City Hall.
And he praised Conlan for taking on such a stern test five months on from suffering his first professional defeat.
"It is really good to see this big fight night happening at the SSE Arena, and fair play to Michael for coming back with a tough fight," Burnett told Belfast Live.
"He hasn't taken an easy comeback route. He has taken a dangerous fighter on and it shows you the mentality he has. It is brilliant to see.
"Miguel Marriaga has a decent record and it shows he can punch. He has a lot of stoppage wins under his belt and he is a dangerous opponent for Michael.
"Michael has jumped straight into the deep end again, and it shows you where he wants to go. If he wins this then it shoots him straight back into title contention."
Burnett retired back in 2019 after suffering a number of injuries which impacted on his career.
A world champion in just his 17th fight, the 30-year-old went on to unify the bantamweight division.
Both wins came at the SSE Arena, and he admits this week's big fight atmosphere had given him "a bit of an itch".
He added: "Being here today gives me a bit of an itch. Seeing the lads hitting the pads and getting ready for a big night.
"It will always give me a bit of an itch to get back in there, but my days are well and truly gone.
"I am still training and lifting some weights for a bit of craic. But that's the most of it.
"And I have my hands full with my wee daughter now, too. So it's all good."
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