Walsh eyes Moscow medal rush

HEAD coach Billy Walsh is convinced he has the talent to better the three-medal haul from Liverpool when he takes his team to the European Championships in Moscow next June.

With some members stranded by the bad weather, he still had most of the High Performance squad back in training at South Circular Road yesterday while, back at their clubs, others were in training for the National Championships.

“We had been pushing to have the championships held in January but unfortunately they run on to March 5,” he said. “We tried to have them earlier because then we would have had a good block of training time before the Europeans. Holding the finals on March 5 means that we will have just eight or nine weeks to get them ready. We will have two tournaments lined up while we had been hoping to get in 10 to 12 international contests before June 4 so we are a bit restricted now.”

John Joe Nevin won what was only Ireland’s sixth world championship medal in Milan last year but there was huge disappointment that the Irish team did not win more, with three boxers fighting for medals on one day.

“It did not work out for some at the world championships,” Walsh said. “You have to get the best out of yourself on a given day to win a medal and you also need that element of luck.

“Such is our strength that we have up to four world-class boxers in all divisions who are capable of winning medals at major tournaments.

“We have a big reputation, particularly in Europe. We are one of the feared countries. I was just speaking to an official from Moldova and he ranked Ireland third behind Russia.

“It makes the national championships very interesting. It is going to be dog eat dog out there and that’s the way we want it. We want to have tough competition in our own country and then, when we go outside Ireland, we will know that we have already met the challenges, technically, mentally and physically.

“I will be sad for the guys who don’t make the team but back in 2008 we won three European medals in Liverpool and every one of them was beaten in last year’s senior championships.”

While all divisions are going to be competitive, he singled out the welterweight division for special mention. Olympian John Joe Joyce, a bronze medallist at the European Championships in 2008, has moved up a division to join his St Michael’s clubmate, Roy Sheahan, a European Union gold medallist, Willie McLoughlin and European junior champion, Jason Quigley.

“This is going to be a really exciting division. At middleweight we have Darren O’Neill. He has recovered from his hand injury; he has a bit more time to train. Darren’s best is still ahead of him and he is the one guy who can be a real contender heading towards London 2012.

“John Joe Nevin lost out in a place in the finals by just one point at the world championships in Milan and he is a really exciting talent.

“Kenny Egan will be out to equal Jim O’Sullivan’s record of 10 titles. He is back in good form and has put last year behind him. He made mistakes but he is back on the bike, working hard, focused.

“Training is what he knows best. Unfortunately life changed totally after the Olympics and it caught up with him – losing the run of himself a little bit. But Kenny is a lovely, humble guy and he realises this is what made him.”

Boxing is Ireland’s most successful Olympic sport and Billy Walsh insists that this is due to many factors.

“Okay, talent has to be the major factor but there are many different factors,” he said.

“All the little things are looked after and catered for. Individual attention is important – attention is paid to everything – what they eat, when they sleep, the simple everyday things so as to make it as normal as possible.

“We have a motto ‘You only achieve what you believe.’ Maybe it took a couple of years to believe but now, each one believes it.

“Our guys have been taken to fairly hostile environments around Europe for training camps. They have been in tough situations and they have benefited from that. They know nothing comes easy.

“Zuar Antia, our technical coach, is better than anyone else out there and they know it. But I think what really makes us different is that we have big hearts and a very important never-say-die attitude. The kids coming up through the system have beaten the best there is and they don’t see any reason why they should not do the same.

“That’s why the upcoming championships are going to be one of the best championships in a long time with so many world-class athletes involved.”