Michael Conlan stops Karim Guerfi to move closer to world title shot

Michael Conlan obliterated Karim Guerfi in 154 seconds to manoeuvre himself into place for a second crack at world honours on St Patrick's Day

HOMETOWN HERO: Michael Conlan celebrates defeating Karim Guerfi in their featherweight bout at the SSE Arena in Belfast. Photo by Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile

A packed SSE Arena in Belfast danced and sang along to 'Merry Christmas Everyone' on Saturday night and it will be a very merry one for Michael Conlan who obliterated Karim Guerfi in 154 seconds to manoeuvre himself into place for a second crack at world honours on St Patrick's Day.

Conlan promised a ruthless display in the build-up and he delivered just that against the five-time European champion, the work on his power from the southpaw stance taking little time to make a dent to dispel any lingering myths that he can't crack.