BOXING EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS:AND SO Irish boxing again goes about its international business with a blue-chip reputation and certainty.
Unfussy, fiercely focused, fabulously successful. Last year John Joe Nevin took bronze at the World Championships. The year before Olympic silver and bronze reminded people that the boxing medal machine of the 1956 Olympics is still churning today. Boxing has beaten expectations but surprised few this week at the Moscow European Championships with three bronze, a silver and a gold medal.
The sport that some people prefer to look at askew has once more proven to be the one that has given most reason for national pride. To the backdrop of an administration at war with the Irish Sports Council, Irish boxers and coach, Billy Walsh, have again delivered.
The disciplined Paddy Barnes refused to crack against Elvin Mamishzade as yet another championship medal fell to Belfast. The fury of losing in the first round of last year’s World Championships to a Kenyan fighter and his public show of disgust was a forgotten place on Saturday. As redemption goes, his delivery was as swift as it was perfect.
“I knew I had to close him down, not give him time to breathe,” said the shy 23-year-old, who lost the first 15 bouts he ever fought.
“He likes to get points and move,” said Barnes. Mamishzade couldn’t this week.
The light-flyweight earned his gold a few hours before Kilkenny’s Darren O’Neill lost out to Russian middleweight, Arten Chebotarev, in the final. O’Neill has finally emerged from the shadows of current professional Andy Lee and the late Darren Sutherland. The national school teacher from Holy Trinity in Donaghmede should continue to have few discipline problems when he arrives back to work.
Like Barnes and bronze winners – Ken Egan, Tyrone McCullough and Eric Donovan – O’Neill and senior coach Walsh will take a cautiously optimistic view of next year’s World Championships in Korea and the 2012 London Olympics. “Look two years out from the Olympics and we are looking at a healthy position,” said Walsh.
“We’ve (junior) world champions at home knocking at the door. Thankfully we have an abundance of talent. But we are way too far out to look at that. We stay in the moment and stay in the day. Boxing is very, very hard to predict and qualification has always been a stumbling block.
“We’ll get back home and get our heads down. We exceeded our expectations this week. I remember that last time we won European gold was back in 1991 (apart from Katie Taylor). I was actually the team captain then when Paul Griffin did it. This week we ended second on the table to Russia,” added the coach. “They’ve 145 million people, about 100,000 boxers. We’ve about 70 in seniors. You know, we have to be very happy with this week.”
Teenager Tyrone McCullough, who suffered a hand injury in Moscow, Mayo light heavyweight Ray Moylett and middleweight talent Joe Ward are all on the radar and building reputations at underage level. There is good reason for Walsh and his boxers to be both level-headed and inspired.
“At last year’s World Championships we’d one medallist (Nevin won bronze),” said O’Neill.
“This year we’d five medals at the Europeans and the world medallist didn’t make it. So it’s very hard to say. In boxing you need a little bit of luck with draws and things. At the World Championships next year you could draw the world champion and eventual winner in your first fight and then you’re knocked out and you miss qualifying for the Olympics. This week I got to a final, didn’t win it but am coming home with a silver medal I can’t complain. If I’d been told a few weeks ago I’d be coming home with silver I’d never have believed it. I’ll just concentrate on the win for now and refocus again on the (World) championships next year.”
O’Neill has some decisions to make over the next two years. Going full time in the lead into London would make sense. He is not about to take that step just yet.
“Teaching is actually benefiting me,” said the silver medallist. “Obviously, coming up to championships I had to pull away and concentrate on the Europeans. . . Teaching works as a distraction from the boxing and boxing works as a distraction from the teaching. I get support from both sides.
European Championships 2002 – 10 boxers, 10 first round defeats; European Championships 2010 – nine boxers, five medals.
Heady stuff indeed.
AND THE WINNERS . . .
Ireland were second on the medal table in Moscow with five medals from nine boxers.
GOLD: Paddy Barnes
SILVER: Damien O'Neill
BRONZE: Ken Egan, Eric Donavon, Tyrone McCullough
