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The St. Patrick’s Day fight card at the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden is once again headlined by rising Irish prospect Michael Conlan, who will take on Ruben Garcia Hernandez in a featherweight bout.
In the United States, the undercard is scheduled to start at 3 p.m. ET, while the main card will begin at 6 p.m. ET. While it won’t be broadcast nationally on television anywhere in the US, you can still watch a live stream of all the fights your computer, phone, or streaming device via ESPN+, the new digital streaming service from ESPN (no cable required) that has exclusive coverage to boxing and many other sports every week.
You can start a free seven-day trial of ESPN+ right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the Conlan vs Hernandez and all of the other fights on your computer via ESPN.com, or on your phone (Android and iPhone compatible), tablet, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, or other compatible streaming device via the ESPN app.
Conlan vs Hernandez Preview
This marks the third time in three years that Conlan, one of Ireland’s most popular boxers, will fight in the main event inside the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden on St. Patrick’s Day. In 2017, the Olympic bronze medalist kicked off his professional career with a third-round TKO of Tim Ibarra, and last year he needed just two rounds to stop David Berna.
“It means the world for me to be fighting at Madison Square Garden, especially on St. Patrick’s Day,” said the 27-year-old. “It’s a special day for me and my country. For me to come here and represent and kind of shine the light for Irish people on St. Patrick’s Day, it’s very, very important.”
“I think this is a big year for me. I want this to be my breakout year. Each fight now is very, very important. Every fight is more important than the last. I feel this year could set me up for a huge world title fight next year, or maybe even later this year, which would be fantastic. I feel my progress has been fantastic over the last four years, so I’ve been steadily going up [the rankings].”
Conlan picked up four more victories in 2018 following the win over Berna, running his record to 10-0-0 with six knockouts. If he keeps up that kind of pace, it won’t be long before he earns himself a title fight.
But first, he’ll need to focus on Hernandez, who is two years younger than the Irishman but has already piled up 29 career professional fights, going 24-3-2 with 10 knockout victories. The Mexico native has previously made the trip to the United States for five fights, winning just two of them. He’s certainly an underdog, but he’s ready for the challenge.
“We know it’s going to be a tough challenge because a lot of people are going to be supporting him,” Hernandez said. “I’m not going to be thinking about that. In the ring, I’m just going to focus on beating him and winning the fight.”
Elsewhere on the card, former world champion Luis Collazo (38-7, 20 KO’s) will battle Samuel Vargas (30-4-2, 14 KO’s) in a welterweight bout, while another Irish Olympic bronze medalist (2008 and 2012), Paddy Barnes (5-1, 1 KO), will take on Dallas native Oscar Mojica (11-5-1, 1 KO).