Our Boxing Heroes
As a former juvenile boxer (quit young, I’m a sore loser) for Crumlin boxing club, the Irish Olympic boxing contingent will have my enthusiastic, full attention, in the forthcoming London Games. Ireland Expects (to borrow a phrase from English football pundits … hope it’s not a bad omen) and the Irish boxers always deliver. We also have a woman boxer—and what a lady.
I know that there will never be women's boxing. A woman wouldn't think of putting on gloves without a purse and shoes to match.
I was reminded of the above old gag when I viewed an interesting RTE video clip of Katie Taylor and Paddy Barnes sparring, during an Irish, amateur boxing training session. Katie Taylor put paid to the old joke, in her own incomparable style. The Bray beauty (current and four-times world lightweight champion) gave as good as she got. Her formidable sparring opponent, European and Commonwealth gold medal winner, Paddy Barnes, did not pull any punches either. They traded rapid jabs and blistering blows, with no quarter asked and no quarter given; it was forceful, intriguing, educational and engrossing entertainment.
According to a Wikipedia article, “Women's boxing first appeared in the Olympic Games at a demonstration bout in 1902. For most of the twentieth century, however, it was banned in most nations. Its revival was pioneered by the Swedish Amateur Boxing Association, which sanctioned events for women in 1988. The British Amateur Boxing Association sanctioned its first boxing competition for women in 1997.”
Amazing stuff, twelve years into the 21st century and women’s boxing is only just back on the Olympic menu. And just in time too. This welcome development provided the stylish Katie an opportunity to add an Olympic gold to her treasure trove of 13 gold medals, won in the World Amateur Championship, European Amateur Championship and European Union Amateur Championship. Undoubtedly, an incredible young lady.
Beijing bronze medallist, Paddy Barnes, is also a good gold medal prospect for the 30th Olympiad. The barnstorming, Belfast boxer will have to wait until July 27th before ascertaining the seeding plan, however. The light-flyweight nose-dived from sixth ranked in the world to outside the top thirty three, much to some commentators’ bemusement and Paddy’s astonishment and anger. Hopefully, The AIBA (International Boxing Association) will soon illuminate the machinations of their ranking and seeding methods.
Besides Katie and Paddy, the other boxers who qualified for the London Olympics are: Belfast man, Michael Conlan,flyweight; European union ,bantamweight gold medallist, John Joe Nevin; Wexford welterweight, Adam Nolan ,and 2009 European Union middleweight champion, Darren O’Neill. All are solid performers and good prospects for medals in London.
Of course, Irish boxers have, traditionally, acquitted themselves honourably and successfully at all Olympic Games. I’ll never forget the celebratory jump of Drimnagh triplet, Michael Carruth, after the welterweight southpaw beat the much fancied Cuban, Juan Hernandez Sierra, for Ireland’s first Olympic boxing gold medal, at the 1992 Barcelona Games.
Ireland won only one Olympic medal at the 1964 Tokyo Games (sadly, I’m old enough to remember) and the great, Jim McCourt, from the famous Immaculta boxing club, Belfast, won that bronze medal. A controversial decision (even a little boy like me could tell Jim was robbed) he lost the semi-final bout to Russian, Velikton Barannikov. Later that year, Jim roundly beat the Tokyo gold medallist, Josef Grudzien, in Dublin’s National Stadium, as if to prove a point.
Another controversial decision concerned Dublin boxer, Kenny Egan. In the 2008 Beijing Olympics, China’s Xiaoping Zhang (hope I spelt it right) beat the Neilstown boxer in a contentious, light-heavyweight final. A lot of commentators thought Egan should have won. Definitely a home town decision, in my opinion; Kenny was robbed.
If Ireland expects medals at these Summer Games, our boxing heroes will provide the best opportunities. Boxing provided twelve medals out of the twenty three medals won by Irish Olympians, since the foundation of the modern Olympics. I expect Katie Taylor to be the second boxing gold medallist since Michael Carruth (no pressure, Katie) and, of course, the first female, Irish Olympic boxing champion.
ROLL ON THE LONDON GAMES
Tomas O'hArgadain