Treacy urges fighters to give Carruth time to make mark

John Treacy has called for Irishboxing’s new chief to be afforded time and space to make his mark on the organisation as the sport faces the prospect of losing its best fighters.

John Nevin turned professional this year while fellow multiple medallists Paddy Barnes and Jason Quigley have made soundings about following a similar path away from Billy Walsh’s high performance unit.

Quigley’s father and coach Conor this week reiterated the many options available to his son, while Barnes has been highly critical of the Amateur Irish Boxing Association (AIBA)’s failure to build on the successes of London 2012.

The Belfast man has bemoaned the poor attendances and lack of big dates arranged by the governing body on the back of such achievements and his loss — or that of Quigley — would be a huge blow to the association.

It is against that backdrop that Fergal Carruth, brother of 1992 Olympic champion Michael, started this week as chief executive of an organisation that needs to maximise its potential outside the ring to keep its best inside it.

“It is not up for me to criticise the association but they have gone through change and everyone is aware of that,” said Treacy, chief executive of the Irish Sports Council, yesterday.

“It is up to the AIBA to kick on now and drive forward, like a lot of the other sports have.

“Some of the other sports are now very commercial and have brought income in whether it be triathlon or cycling or athletics.

“Let’s remember that we have some of the most marketable people in the country that are associated with boxing and we would hope that would kick on now.”

The AIBA has missed the boat in terms of utilising the massive profile gained for the sport at London last year and it remains to be seen if the 18 or so months of disillusionment since will be fatal to their hopes of holding on to the cream of the crop ahead of the Rio Games in 2016.

“I have seen the points Paddy Barnes has raised in terms of fighting in front of a hundred people,” admitted Treacy.

“It is an issue for the AIBA but we need to give the new chief executive an opportunity to find his feet and bring the sport forward.

“There are big challenges there without a doubt and we need to make sure we support them, that they continue to have all the right services available and that they go to all the right competitions on the funding that we provide.”