Fourteen wannabe ‘Rocky Balboas’ arrive in Cork this week for what is expected to be the first of many fights between local boxers and rivals from Bristol in the UK.

The Cork boxing family gathered at Clancy’s Bar in the city yesterday to toast the 150th birthday of Cork’s only world boxing champion, Jack McAuliffe.

The Katie Taylor effect has seen women of all ages and walks of life enter the boxing ring in their droves to get fit, gain confidence and relieve stress, says Áilín Quinlin