It was a return to Belfast for the first time since his defeat by Jordan Gill in December 2023 which left him with much to ponder in terms of his career.

After a 16-month hiatus, Conlan returned in March 2025 under new coach Grant Smith, producing a points win over Asad Asif Khan in Brighton before stopping Jack Bateson in Dublin six months later.

However, the SSE Arena once again proved to be the scene of one final night of disappointment that has resulted in his decision to retire.

It wasn’t a case of him being completely dominated this time, but there was self-awareness that his performance was not up to a level where he could threaten a standing champion.

Walsh will instead seek his own opportunity and called out WBC featherweight champion Bruce Carrington afterwards.

“It was definitely a close fight,” he told DAZN afterwards.

“Shout out to Mick Conlan – I’ve always been a fan of his but he couldn’t figure me out. He’s been a helluva fighter, but his time’s up.”

Those words rang true with Conlan confirming this is indeed time up.

“Boxing has given me an unbelievable life,” he reflected.

“I can never be bitter with the situation because it gives you so much and takes so much. I’ve always said you can never love the sport as it will never love you back.

“I want to walk away with my health intact and my family good. I’ve done really well in boxing, have reached some serious heights and fought in some serious arenas around the world, done things many fighters don’t get to do.”

He continued: “I’ve achieved an awful lot but have I reached my goal of becoming a world champion? No, and that’s the hardest part of all.

“I’m a stubborn person and would want to keep going, but I’ve missed a lot of my family’s lives. I’ve two kids, my daughter is 11 next week and my son is seven. I’ve missed maybe 65 or 70% of their lives through boxing and training camps, so it’s time to go home.”

American Conference Commissioner Tim Pernetti praised President Donald Trump after Trump signed an executive order to protect the exclusive broadcasting window for the annual Army-Navy football game.

Pernetti expressed the conference’s “deep gratitude” for the order.

“The American Conference is deeply grateful to President Trump for his strong leadership in issuing the historic executive order to preserve America’s Game,” Pernetti said in a statement.

“This is a meaningful step that protects a cherished national tradition and reinforces what makes the Army-Navy Game so special to our country.

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President Donald Trump holds up a signed executive order during the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy presentation with the Navy Midshipmen football team in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., March 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

“The Army-Navy Game represents far more than football. It honors our service academies, highlights the character and commitment of our future leaders and brings Americans together around values that matter deeply, including service and sacrifice.

“This executive order is a positive step for the sport, for our service academies and for the enduring legacy of America’s Game. We are proud to be a part of the team working to protect it.”

ESPN ANALYST PAUL FINEBAUM QUESTIONS TRUMP’S COLLEGE SPORTS REFORM MEETING AS POTENTIAL ‘CIRCUS’

President Donald Trump is escorted onto the field to take part in the ceremonial coin toss before the start of a game between Army and Navy at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore Dec. 13, 2025. (Stephanie Scarbrough/AP Photo)

Trump signed the order Friday as he presented the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy to the Navy football team in the East Room of the White House. The order directs the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Department of Commerce to coordinate with relevant parties, including the NCAA, the College Football Playoff (CFP) and broadcast partners, to secure an exclusive broadcast window for the standalone game.

The executive order came amid growing concerns that an expanding College Football Playoff calendar could encroach on the game’s traditional date, which since 2009 has been played exclusively on the second Saturday in December.

The classic rivalry, first played in 1890, has been played annually since 1930 and typically draws 7 million to 8 million viewers, making it one of the highest-rated regular-season games in college football. The current television agreement with CBS Sports runs through 2038.

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President Donald Trump tosses a coin before a game between the Army and Navy in Baltimore Dec. 13, 2025.  (Alex Wroblewski/AFP via Getty Images)

Trump, who has attended multiple Army-Navy games as president, framed the move in January as an act of patriotism, writing on social media, “Under my Administration, the second Saturday in December belongs to Army-Navy, and ONLY Army-Navy!”

As the postseason structure of college football continues to evolve, this executive order signals a significant commitment by the administration to maintain the standalone grandeur of a matchup defined by the phrase “sing second.”

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In a training career spanning more than 30 years, Mick Price has come across only one similar instance to the problem that kept Reserve Bank out of action for almost a year.

The winner of The Goodwood prepares for a return via the Group 1 The Galaxy (1100m) at Rosehill on Saturday, arriving back at the stable for spring targets when handlers flagged odd behaviour.

“I walked in at four o’clock one morning and the girls said, ‘come and have a look at this’,” Price said.

“He was absolutely shaking life a leaf on the spot, which was really unusual.

“We couldn’t work it out initially. We thought it might have been a vertebrae problem, but it turned out to be Ross River virus based on his blood picture.”

This mosquito-spread virus, often seen in humans, also hits equines, manifesting as fever, swollen joints and sluggishness.

Having trained just one other horse with it, Price recalls that one failing to thrive post-issue, contrasting sharply with Reserve Bank’s positive rehabilitation signs.

“It was a horse called Blazing Harry. He came back and he did not race well, and he didn’t look to bloom,” Price said.

“I don’t have much experience or knowledge with it. I don’t know what to expect. But Blazing Harry, he didn’t have a lot of life looking at him, and this horse looks beautiful.

“I think he just needs racing.”

Last autumn the four-year-old secured three stakes wins in a row, highlighted by his Goodwood conquest.

He holds a fine fresh record yet Price views the Saturday assignment as preparatory and is sceptical about gate two’s prospects.

“The horse is going super, but I can’t picture how he wins a The Galaxy from that inside gate, first-up after a long time,” he said.

“He’s a four-year-old bull. I’m just looking for him to run well and please, and then I’ll work out a program.”

“He just needs to go to the races to bring him on.”

Damian Lane takes the mount on Reserve Bank, quoted at $8.50 in a wide-open betting contest.

Discover racing betting markets for The Galaxy among top betting sites.

Devin Haney and Rolando Romero are expected to collide in a welterweight title unification this May, and potential 147lb rival Keyshawn Davis has offered his prediction for the contest.

Haney dethroned Brian Norman Jr to become the WBO welterweight champion in November, whereas Romero won the vacant WBA Regular title with a win against Ryan Garcia last May, before later being upgraded to full champion.

Meanwhile, Keyshawn Davis was stripped of his WBO lightweight crown when he missed weight ahead of a planned first defence versus Edwin De Los Santos. He moved up to super-lightweight as a result, knocking out Jamaine Ortiz back in January to rediscover some momentum.

However, during his post-fight interview, Davis revealed plans to move up to welterweight and take on Haney, despite just one fight above the lightweight limit since 2021.

It appears as though Haney has instead opted for this title unification opportunity against Romero, but ‘The Businessman’ is sure to pursue a clash with the victor, claiming to have already agreed to a ‘championship contest’ in the welterweight division.

Speaking to FightHype, Davis looked ahead to the bout, which he labelled as a ’50/50 fight’ after sharing a phone call with Romero.

“Haney-Romero? I got it 50/50. Definitely a 50/50 fight. I have been talking to Rolly on the phone, I know how serious he is. Everybody know Devin for his last fight. So, I got it being a 50/50 fight.”

Haney-Romero is anticipated to take place on Saturday, May 30, at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, pending official announcement.

Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes voiced his frustration at perceived inconsistencies in refereeing decisions as his side were not awarded a penalty in their 2-2 draw at Bournemouth.

Referee Stuart Atwell looked at an incident in the second half when Amad Diallo went down under contact by Adrien Truffert in the box, but determined it was not worthy of a penalty.

VAR agreed with the on-field decision but Atwell later gave Bournemouth a penalty for a similar-looking challenge, with Harry Maguire seeing a straight red for pushing Evanilson in the penalty area with the latter through on goal, and conceding a spot-kick, which Eli Junior Kroupi duly converted.

Fernandes said afterwards: “I think we could have gone 2-0 up, and then we ended up conceding a goal, not getting a penalty and then we get a penalty against, where more or less it’s the same situation as Amad.

“One is rewarded as a penalty, the other one not. I know it’s difficult for the referee to give two penalties to the same team in one game but I don’t understand why VAR doesn’t get involved in that situation or with Harry [Maguire] because either one is a penalty and so is the other or none of them are.

“Amad is getting to a point where he’s going to shoot and he gets pushed – you can see that something puts him completely out of balance.

“It’s frustrating for the small players because they always say the small players are soft and when it’s the bigger players they end up giving the fouls. I think the other situation is a penalty, but I also think the one on Amad is a penalty and that could’ve changed the game.”

Fernandes had earlier opened the scoring for United from the spot after Michael Carrick’s side were awarded a penalty for a foul on Matheus Cunha by Alejandro Jimenez.

The Premier League Match Centre explained the decision not to award United another penalty on X, writing: “The referee’s call of no penalty for a challenge by Truffert was checked and confirmed by VAR – with it deemed the contact was not sufficient for a foul.”

Manchester United interim manager Michael Carrick agreed with his captain, saying: “We should have had another penalty. Obviously, if you get one, you must get the other.

“It’s pretty much identical for me, two-hand grab. Either way, he’s got one wrong, but to give one and not give the other, I can’t get my head around it, I think it’s crazy. It’s a bit baffling, really.”

Carrick said the decision not to award the Amad penalty was pivotal to the outcome of the game. He added: “Because of that, they score and then it’s chaos after that, really.

“We should have had another penalty and the game would have been totally different.

“That’s what VAR was for: clean it up and consistency. Surely whatever they think, if one’s been given there’s enough people to decide that it’s the same as the first. It’s two different decisions, so a bit baffling really.”

Liverpool FC have strongly condemned racist abuse aimed at Ibrahima Konaté following their convincing win over Galatasaray in the UEFA Champions League.

Liverpool secured a 4-0 victory at Anfield, completing a 4-1 aggregate win to book their place in the quarter-finals. However, the result has been overshadowed by online attacks directed at Konaté after the match.

The defender played a key role in the game but was involved in an early incident with Victor Osimhen. Both players collided, and the Nigerian striker suffered a serious arm injury from the impact.

Konaté was also involved in other tense moments during the match, including a situation where he pulled a teammate away during a confrontation involving Noa Lang, and another clash with Mauro Icardi near the goal area.

After the game, some fans took to social media to post racist messages targeting the French defender. The abuse included offensive words and monkey emojis, a trend often seen after emotional matches.

Liverpool reacted quickly by releasing a strong statement to defend their player. The club said it was shocked and angered by the abuse directed at Konaté and made it clear that such behaviour is unacceptable.

They also stated that they are monitoring the situation and have called on social media companies to take firm action against those responsible.

Meanwhile, Osimhen has returned to Nigeria as he continues his recovery from the injury he sustained during the match.

The striker was hurt in the first half after the collision with Konaté. Although he tried to continue, he was later taken off at half-time. Medical tests confirmed that he fractured his right forearm, which has now been placed in a cast.

Reports say Osimhen will wait for the swelling to reduce before deciding if he needs surgery. If an operation is required, he could be out for about six weeks.

This could be a major setback for Galatasaray, with the striker likely to miss important matches, including games against Trabzonspor, Kocaelispor and Gençlerbirliği. He is also in a race to be fit for a key fixture against Fenerbahçe on April 26.

Osimhen has already missed out on international duty, as he was not included in the squad for Nigeria’s upcoming friendly matches.

Despite his injury struggles this season, the former African Footballer of the Year remains one of Galatasaray’s most important players, contributing 26 goals with 19 goals scored and seven assists across all competitions.