Irish coach Billy Walsh is quietly confident that Ireland can maintain her proud tradition of winning at medal at every European Union Championships since the tournament’s inception in Strasbourg, France in 2003.
The talking is almost over, and this year’s championships – to be held in Dublin, and featuring some of the top amateur boxers in the world and Europe – will glove-off at the National Stadium next Monday before concluding on June 23.
Twenty-one nations have already been confirmed to take part in the tournament, which is seen as the last major international showdown before the World Championships and Olympic qualifiers in Chicago in October.
Every journey begins with a single step, a Chinese philosopher once said, and the Irish squad – which was completed following John Joe Joyce’s win over Aodh Carlyle last Saturday – will be hoping that the EU Championships will lead to the Beijing 2008 Olympics.
The Irish Amateur Boxing Association (IABA) had named an 11-man squad for the championships. However, the 64kg position was up for grabs between Joyce and Carlyle (Golden Cobra Dublin), who met in a trial bout last weekend. Joyce won the four-rounder on a 26–16 scoreline at the National Stadium to become the third St Michael’s Athy boxer to be included on the Irish panel.
The Boys in Green – who will be actually boxing out of the red corner in Dublin next week – have won eight medals at this level since the inaugural European Union Championships four years ago. Ken Egan (Neilstown, Dublin) leads the pack, bagging three medals in the last four years, including a gold (Sardinia, Italy, 2005), a silver (Strasbourg, 2003) and a bronze (Pecs, Hungary, 2006). Paul McCloskey (silver, Strasbourg 2003), Andy Lee (silver, Madrid 2004), Brian Gillen (bronze, Strasbourg 2003), Andrew Murray (bronze, Strasbourg 2003) and Alan Reynolds (bronze, Strasbourg 2003) have also finished in podium positions at this level.
Looking ahead to the tournament, former Irish Olympian Walsh said that with the home advantage, they would be really up for this one. Walsh will coach the squad along with Zuar Antia at the National Stadium, the same pairing who coached the national contingent in the last three European Union tournaments.
“We have named an experienced team for the tournament and our training and preparations are going very well and there is a great spirit within the squad,” said Walsh. “Some of the top amateur boxers in the world and Europe will be at the stadium and it will be tough. But the lads will be really up for this one, and with home advantage we will be confident.”
The Irish squad, which contains eight current Irish senior champions, went into full-time training last Tuesday ahead of the opening bell at the South Circular Road venue next Monday afternoon. Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, France, England, Estonia, Germany, Greece, Holland, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Scotland, Spain, Slovakia, Slovenia, Turkey, Wales and Ireland will all be represented at the fifth European Union Championships in Dublin.
Meanwhile, it appears the female of the species is becoming more deadly than the male when it comes to the noble art.
The Irish Amateur Boxing Associations (IABA) development officer for women’s boxing, Anja Norman, reckons that female fighters are looking at Katie Taylor as an example, and believing they too can go on to conquer the world if they work hard enough.
Reigning world and back-to-back European champion Taylor is officially the number one lightweight in the world in the ABA Amateur Boxing rankings released for May, and the St Fergal’s Bray ace is also ranked number one on the planet in the pound-for-pound section.
Norman recently organised a training session for women boxers at the National Stadium in Dublin, and 32 athletes showed up from every province in Ireland. As Norman points out, the girls now realise that women’s boxing is getting serious, and the IABA is providing the support structures to ensure that their hopes and aspirations are realisable.
“The training session was an absolute success, and the men’s High Performance bosses Ken Egan and Eric Donovan, who took charge of training, did a brilliant job,” she said.
“Katie Taylor is obviously a role model for the girls, and when they look at what she has done they realise it is achievable and Katie is an inspiration to them.
“Some of the girls at the training session were very talented and the coaches were very surprised at the quality and sheer enthusiasm for the sport shown last Sunday.
“We had a training session last year, but this time the girls are beginning to realise that women’s boxing is a very serious sport and the IABA is providing them with achievable goals.”
In other news, a conference on women’s boxing was recently held at Citywest Hotel in Dublin.
The main purpose was to inform everyone on the short and long term plans for the sport, but there were also workshops on ‘Female Boxing History’, ‘Planning for Success’ (National Coaching and Training Centre) and ‘Women in Sport’ (Mary Davies, Special Olympics).
On 25–29 July there will be and international coaching and training camp in Dublin involving women from Finland, England, Holland and Ireland. There will also be a national boxing summer camp in Athy between 24 and 26 August.
Irish 2007 European Union Championships Squad:
48kg: Paddy Barnes (Holy Family); 51kg: Conor Ahern (Baldoyle); 54kg: Ryan Lindberg (Immaculata); 57kg: Carl Frampton (Midlands White City); 60kg: Eric Donovan (St Michael’s Athy); 64kg: John Joe Joyce (St Michael’s Athy); 69Kg: Roy Sheehan (St Michael’s Athy); 75kg: Darren Sutherland (St Saviours OBA); 81kg: Ken Egan (Neilstown); 91kg: John Sweeney (Dungloe); 91kg+: Cathal McMonagle (Holy Trinity)
