On the outside looking in — the man behind our boxing medals

HEAD Coach Billy Walsh yesterday said that it was a disgrace that Gary Keegan, the man responsible for getting the Irish boxers to the medal stages at the Olympic Games, is not with the team in Beijing.

“He is the main reason for this and for the High Performance director not to lead this team at two Olympic Games is an absolute disgrace,” Walsh said. “He is sitting outside there. Most days he has been crying, because he can’t be with his team.

“It has meant a lot of extra work for me but I have learned a lot from him so I am able to pick up the pieces but he normally picks up the pieces around me so I can totally focus on coaching.