Michael Conlan overcomes bad officiating to stop Sofiane Takoucht

Michael Conlan dominated Sofiane Takoucht but had to be careful after being deducted multiple points for low blows. He still found a way to win the fight.

Michael Conlan told FanSided several weeks ago that he fell in love with boxing again during the pandemic, and he put his passion on display stopping Sofiane Takoucht.

Forced time away from the sport has hindered the performances of numerous boxers, but Conlan thrived.

“I really, really loved it,” Conlan told FanSided before his Aug. 15 bout. “It brought back a passion and spark that I didn’t think was there because I’ve been doing this my whole life.”

Takoucht (35-5-1, 13 KOs), 34, of France came into his bout with Conlan off an October 2019 TKO loss to IBF featherweight champion Josh Warrington. Conlan was the heavy favorite, but he faced adversity due to questionable officiating.

For most of the fight, Conlan stayed in a southpaw stance to counter Takoucht, who is a natural southpaw. He established his work to the body in round 1, and kept it up, although it would later get him into trouble.

Conlan (14-0, 8 KOs), 28, of Northern Ireland, was first warned for a low blow in round 3, but the punch appeared to be clean. A second punch did land downstairs, and Takoucht was given time to rest. At the end of the round, Conlan and Takoucht got in each other’s face and had heated words.

Conlan was hurting Takoucht with his bodywork in round 4 but lost a point for a questionable low blow. Losing a point helped Takoucht greatly, who was losing every round.

Officiating changed Michael Conlan’s gameplan, but he persevered and fought Sofiane Takoucht intelligently.

In round 5, referee Steve Gray took a second point away from Conlan for a low punch. Conlan did strike Takoucht below the belt, but only because Takoucht pulled his head down. It was an incidental foul that shouldn’t have resulted in a penalty. The second point forced Conlan to change his gameplan.

Conlan stopped targeting Takoucht’s body and went for the head. His attacks became predictable, but he still outscored Takoucht, who was never in the fight.

In the 10th and final round, Conlan knew he was well ahead on points despite previous deductions and let his hands go. He punched Takoucht’s body and head, which allowed Conlan to land to left hooks upstairs that badly hurt Takoucht.

Takoucht was bleeding from the nose and on wobbly legs. Conlan threw a flurry of punches to Takoucht’s head and connected with several that forced the referee to stop the fight, resulting in a TKO victory for Conlan.

During the post-fight interview, Conlan said he relied on his experience to guide him after losing multiple points.

“I’m experienced enough in the fight game that I know I can just go ahead,” said Conlan.

Conlan wants to move down to junior featherweight to contend for a world title. He’ll be ranked highly by the WBO, but champion Angelo Leo owes Stephen Fulton a mandatory shot first. It will be interesting to see what’s next for Conlan.