Irish boxers at the London Summer Olympics
Ireland’s formidable reputation in pugilism spans the English-speaking world, with boxers of Hibernian descent making a splash far, far outside of the Emerald Isle. However, at the Olympics, it is just the fistic talent of the Republic of Ireland that counts, and that little island country is enjoying a run of good talent. In 2008, they brought home two bronzes and a silver, and that ain’t bad considering Ireland’s modest population of only 6.3 million and the scoring scandals suffered in Beijing.
Not all of 2008’s medal winners are making a return, and ironically, the Irish team might even be stronger for it. That is hardly the only reason to watch, however. Whenever Ireland challenges the UK in sports, the event is a noteworthy clash of neighbors and rivals. The Ireland vs. UK matches were some of the most exciting produced by the Beijing Games, and this year any such encounter would take place in London, on British soil. If such a thing should occur, except sparks to fly.
- Paddy Barnes (Light Flyweight): Barnes was a major contender in the previous Olympics, but ran afoul of some highly suspect scoring in his bout with China’s Zhou Shiming, who eliminated Barnes in the semi-finals and went on to win gold. Barnes was clearly out-pointed by Zhou, but not by the scandalous 15-0 scored by the judges. Barnes had to settle for bronze. Barnes is back for 2012, and although AIBA ranks him only #7 in the world, he was a 2010 EU and Commonwealth gold medal winner. At this year’s AIBA Qualifier, Barnes won bronze. He is a strong contender for a medal, and perhaps he will meet #3 ranked Zhou Shiming and score some revenge.
- Michael Conlan (Flyweight): The 20 year old Conlan is still new to international amateur competition. He went to the World Amateur Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan last year, and was beaten early on by Briton Andrew Selby. AIBA rates him at #14, while his rival from across the Irish Sea is second in the world. Raushee Warren from the United States is also better regarded, so he can’t really be considered a medal contender.
- John Joe Nevin (Bantamweight): Nevin is a Traveler, or Irish nomad. This is his second trip to the Olympics, and in Beijing he was eliminated in the second round by the ultimate gold medal winner, Enkhbatyn Badar-Uugan of Mongolia. After the Olympics, he went back to the world championships twice (Milan 2009, Baku 2011), and won bronze both times, earning him the rare distinction among Irish fighters of claiming two medals at the boxing World Amateur Championships. Nevin is consistent and he has heart, but is an outside medal contender at best.
- Adam Nolan (Welterweight): Nolan must have a special place in Irish coach Billy Walsh’s eye. After Walsh himself, Nolan is only the second Irish Olympic boxer to come out of Wexford. He is coming off a strong performance at this years AIBA Qualifier, winning gold there. Even so, that should not be read as making him a top contender for a medal, and AIBA does not consider him so (as of May 1). The AIBA Qualifier in question was a Europe-only event, and in 2008 the welterweight division was swept by Asians and Cuba. Nolan has an outside chance at a medal.
- Darren O’Neill (Middleweight): The Irish squad’s other main contender, O’Neill is a fighter to watch. For years, O’Neill was always just a step behind other prominent Irish amateurs. He lost the 2005 and 2006 Irish amateur championship to Ken Egan, and switched to middleweight to gain better traction. The switch worked to a certain extent, and O’Neill won three national championships in a row. Even so, he dropped a closely and somewhat controversial decision to Darren Sutherland in 2008, and lost his chance to go to Beijing. Biding his time, O’Neill went to Odense in 2009 and bagged the EU Amateur Championship gold, and then to Moscow in 2010 to win a silver at the European Amateur Championship. O’Neill beat his old rival, Ken Egan, to secure his berth to the London Games. That was no mean feat considering Egan won silver in Beijing, losing gold in a close match with a Chinese fighter, Zhang Xiaoping. Now it is finally O’Neill’s time to shine, and he is ranked #3 in the world.
