Rio Review finds Irish boxing at a dangerous crossroads

Hopes of reclaiming Ireland’s prominence in the boxing ring at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo are being undermined by a high performance system roundly criticised by the ‘Rio Review’, according to heavyweight Darren O’Neill.

The 212-page, multi-sport document was made public by Sport Ireland yesterday and, as expected, the most notable sections were those dealing with the failure of a world-class, eight-person boxing squad to claim a single medal from last year’s Games in Brazil.

The likes of Katie Taylor, Michael Conlan, and Paddy Barnes all travelled to Brazil last summer expecting podium places, at the very least, and the Irish public shared that optimism after medal hauls between the ropes in Beijing in 2008 and London four years later.