Boxers fight for recognition on way to Athens

THE Irish boxers – all with their sights on Olympic qualification - arrived in Cork last evening for the Multi-Nations Tournament at the Rochestown Park Hotel tonight (7.30 pm), hoping for some sort of recognition for their achievements over the past year.

Billy Walsh, seven times national senior champion and now Head Coach for the High Performance Team Ireland, is dumbfounded at the lack of media coverage in this country for a sport that has the best record in the Olympics down the years.

“Apart from the Irish Examiner and Gerry Callan, we find it practically impossible to get any publicity,” he said. “Those guys have been winning gold and silver medals all over the place. The BBC even came to cover our training camp but RTÉ have been ignoring us.

“From that point of view we are hoping this tournament in Cork - the first of its kind in Ireland - will help raise the profile of the sport.

“We just came back from the Olympic training camp in Cyprus on Friday and, while we were out there, the other elite athletes - many of whom have already qualified for Athens - were amazed at the amount of training we put in, the level of fitness in the team, and the co-ordination and we just came back from the Olympic training camp in Cyprus on Friday and, while we were out there, the other elite athletes - many of whom have already qualified for Athens - were amazed at the amount of training we put in, the level of fitness in the team, and the co-ordination and skills involved.”

He said both Alan Reynolds and Andy Lee were bitterly disappointed at having to withdraw from the tournament. Lee, Ireland’s newest sensation, had planned a big show for the hundreds of fans who planned to make the trip from Limerick to see him in action, but he damaged a knuckle and was told to rest.

“The heavyweight division is going to be pretty exciting. Jason Douglas from Canada is the Commonwealth Games gold medallist, but I am sure that the American, Francisco Palacios, will prove to be a very good opponent. You can never discount an American heavyweight,” Walsh said.

At light flyweight Ireland will introduce an exciting new prospect in Conor Ahern who has just turned 18.

Andrew Murray, national senior light weight champion for the past two years and Garreth Dunne, finalist this year, will be involved in a competitive division that features Frenchman Guillaume Salingue, who was a medallist at the world championships in Belfast.

Michael Kelly from Dundalk, a two time world military champion, was brought on to the High Performance squad when Paul McCloskey tore ligaments in his ankle, and he will join young Roy Sheahan from Athy at light welterweight this week.

James Moore, bronze medallist at the world championships in Belfast, will be joined by Henry Coyle at Welterweight, while Frank O’Brien replaces Andy Lee alongside Eamon O’Kane at middleweight.

The light heavyweight division will prove exciting, with both Kenneth Egan, the national champion, and his arch rival, Marvin Lee, in against Trevor Stewardson from Canada, and Dzafa Burim from Kosovo.