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Michael Conlan celebrates with coach Billy Walsh and coach Zaur Anita. INPHO/Dan Sheridan

'I'm just warming up' says Michael Conlan after quarter-final win

The Belfast fighter insists he’s not going to settle for bronze after victory in London tonight.

MICHAEL CONLAN INSISTS you ain’t seen nothing yet.

The 20-year-old boxer secured at least a bronze medal tonight with a thrilling 22-18 win over French fighter Nordine Oubaali in the flyweight division at the Excel Arena.

He now will face Cuba’s Robeisy Ramirez Carrazana in the semi-final on Friday at 8.45pm for a place on the Olympic final. But Conlan says he’s not going to settle for the bronze.

“I’m not a bronze medalist yet because I’m not a medalist until I get a medal around my neck,” he told RTÉ afterwards. “And now I just have to change the colour, that’s all I have to do. There’s more in the tank definitely, this is only me warming up. You haven’t seen the best of Michael Conlan yet.

The Belfast-born boxer drew his first two rounds 5-5 and 7-7, before gaining in confidence, and beating Oubaali 10-6 in the final round. and he told Marty Morrissey that high performance chief Billy Walsh told him to make the third round count.

“In the last round Billy told me to go for it and I knew I had to and I have a sore head now; it was a hard fight and he hit hard. It was always going to be a tough fight and I’ve fought him three times and that was the third time I beat him but every time… it’s harder to beat someone three times than beating them twice.

“I knew he was going to come at me because he’s a come-forward fighter but our plan was to push him back  and it did work in the end.  I just had to be patient and keep my cool and keep to the plan.”

More boxing success for Ireland, as Conlan progresses to semis

In pictures: Day 11 of London 2012

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    Mute Mark O'Flaherty
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    Aug 7th 2012, 11:22 PM

    The whole country is behind you lad! Hope you bring home the gold

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    Mute Darren Gibney
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    Aug 8th 2012, 1:42 AM

    Both French appeals REJECTED.

    Conlan has at least bronze. Yay!

    http://www.lequipe.fr/Boxe/Actualites/L-appel-des-francais-rejete/304522

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    Mute Darren Gibney
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    Aug 8th 2012, 7:22 AM

    It’s hard not to laugh. On Twitter, the French are going mad blaming “British” dirty tricks in a match won by an Irish guy in which the referee was from Kazakhstan and the judges were from Lithuania, Uzbekistan, Argentina, Philippines and Vietnam.

    C’est la logique…..non?

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    Mute Darren Gibney
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    Aug 7th 2012, 11:25 PM

    Those pesky Frenchies have launched a protest.

    http://www.francetv.fr/sport/boxe-reclamation-apres-la-defaite-des-francais-vastine-et-oubaali-15711

    How long will it be before that’s handled? It’ll be very unsettling for Conlan.

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    Mute Noel Cronin
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    Aug 7th 2012, 11:44 PM

    I think their main grievance is with the other fight and not Conlon’s. By all accounts it was a terrible decision.

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    Mute Robert Treanor
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    Aug 7th 2012, 11:44 PM

    It says nothing about them appealing the conlan fight, they appealed the other fight which they lost a ukranian which was a shocking decision.

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    Mute Padraic Forde
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    Aug 8th 2012, 7:01 AM

    Conlan won fair and square, not like the French soccer team not so long ago!!!

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    Mute bob mac ene
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    Aug 8th 2012, 9:07 AM

    Feels good to beat the French.They have been messing us up at football and rugby for years. The fact that they think they won makes it even sweeter.

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