Ranking snub stuns Barnes

One of Ireland’s prime Olympic medal hopes, boxer Paddy Barnes, has been left stunned by the latest world rankings which have resulted in him falling off the list just weeks before the Games begin in London.

The Belfast fighter was ranked sixth last month but was conspicuous by his absence from the 33 names released by the World Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA) yesterday and that may yet have serious ramifications for the 2008 Olympic bronze medallist as it is understood the top six ranked boxers in each category will be seeded.

“I could have to fight the world champion in the first fight,” said Barnes yesterday. “I’m confident that I can beat anybody, but it’s just making my job harder. I just want to put out the fact that the rankings that have come out are unfair and stupid.”

Barnes tweeted the AIBA yesterday morning when he heard of his shock plummet down the light-flyweight ladder, flummoxed by the fact that others in the top 10 had moved up the chain despite the fact there had been no ranking tournaments in the weeks since.

The 25-year old has never been shy at voicing his displeasure at perceived injustices, as was the case last April when he lost an Olympic qualifier semi-final to what he felt was a hometown decision in favour of Turkey’s Ferhat Pehlivan in Trabzon.

Difficult though that was to accept, Barnes had already qualified for London — unlike teammate Joe Ward, who was undone in similar circumstances — but the concern is that the rankings may have a more injurious effect on his medal ambitions.

“There must have been some error but it doesn’t make any difference really,” said boxing team coach Billy Walsh. “When they get to the Games, they will be seeded and Paddy should be up there with the best of them. It’s a piece of paper, a misprint, whatever, I don’t know.”

However, it was later confirmed that the AIBA rankings are based on performances at the Olympics, World and Youth Championships, Continental Championships (European, Asian Championships etc) and Olympic qualifiers over a two-year rolling period.

Barnes missed the July cut for rankings by one month as his gold medal at the European Championships 2010 in Moscow was in June of that year and the AIBA confirmed that results in the Russian capital had been removed from the ranking list.

“I tweeted the (AIBA), but who am I? I’m nobody to them,” said Barnes yesterday morning.

“They’ll just brush me to the side and tell me to shut up. I don’t know whether people are being paid off or whatever but it’s a disgrace. It’s just terrible.”

The seeding system for boxers at the 2012 Olympics will be confirmed after the general weigh-in and draw at the ExCel venue in London on July 27.

A total of 286 male and female boxers will go into the hat for the draw, with the boxing beginning the following day.

Ireland will be represented by Barnes, Katie Taylor, Michael Conlan, Adam Nolan, John Joe Nevin and Darren O’Neill.

Taylor, who is world number one, will be seeded in the women’s lightweight class along with one other boxer, most likely Russia’s Sofya Ochigava.

Two-time world medalist Nevin is listed at number four in the bantamweight class while the situation with Darren O’Neill, who won silver at the 2010 European Championships in Moscow, is unclear.

The Kilkenny middleweight dropped from third to seventh position in the July rankings although two of the boxers above O’Neill in the updated rankings haven’t qualified for the Olympics so the Irish southpaw should be bumped back up.

Conlan is ranked ninth by the AIBA at flyweight while Nolan is not ranked at welterweight.