Squad meeting revived Irish spirit, says Wals

The Irish Elite team got their heads together following a backs-to-the-wall team talk at the European Championships in Minsk, Belarus, according to head coach Billy Walsh.

The Ireland squad arrived in the Belarusian capital with a well-earned reputation as one of the most formidable Irish sides ever assembled. But Team Ireland was on the ropes within 24 hours after three boxers, two of which were European champions, crashed out.

Sean McComb, and Ray Moylette and Joe Ward, gold medal winners at the 2011 Europeans in Turkey, were on the wrong end of two unanimous decisions and a freak injury. Ward was well ahead with just 20 seconds to go the final bell of his light-heavy duel with Poland’s Mateusz Tryc when a clash of knees dislocated his left kneecap and TKO’d his bid to win back-to-back European crowns.

The squad bounced back from those reversals, with Paddy Barnes, John Joe Nevin, Michael Conlan, medallists at London 2012, and Jason Quigley, blasting their way through to today’s semi-finals. All four are guaranteed at least a bronze medal and Ireland now has the biggest representation of western Europe in the last four.

Russia and the Ukraine have nine and five boxers amongst the medals, followed by Ireland.

“We sat down as a team and Joe [Ward] was there with us. The guys were giving out about the scoring. I had to put everything to bed, get the team together,” said Walsh, who is working Ireland’s corner with Zuar Antia and Eddie Bolger.

“I reminded them in Trabzon [venue for Olympic qualifiers] we had a similar fate. We had been robbed, I just said we can turn this around, to go back to the principles. ‘There’s six of you guys still left,’” Walsh told the Irish team, “‘Let’s get in tomorrow, give it your best shot and throw everything at it and see where we go’.

“We’ve regrouped, got our heads together. When you consider one of our best medal prospects went home injured and we still have four guys gone on to win medals. We’re still in the hunt.

“We’ll be looking to improve on the colours of those medals now. The guys aren’t settling for bronze out here. They want to be fighting for gold on Saturday and they want to go all the way.”

Nevin fights Russia’s Vladimir Nikitin this afternoon hoping to became the second Irish boxer, after Katie Taylor, to win medals at all the majors — Olympics, World, European and EU Championships — by virtue of reaching the last four in Minsk.

Barnes meets Azerbaijan light-fly Salman Alizada, the 2011 European champion. Conlan faces Russian 2012 national champion Ovik Ogannisian, while Quigley is in against Ukrainian London 2012 Olympian Ievgen Khytrov, the current AIBA world middleweight champion.