BOXING:ALL FIVE boxers, who registered for the Unseeded Elite Championships in the National Stadium but did not weigh-in for the tournament, have handed in medical certificates to the Irish Amateur Boxing Association (IABA).
The five High Performance athletes, Joe Ward, Ray Moylette, Paddy Barnes, Darren O’Neill and John Joe Nevin, all Olympic, World or European medallists and regarded as Olympic 2012 medal prospects, have provided the IABA with valid reasons for not taking part in the competition, ostensibly organised to select the Irish team for the World Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan next month.
But a cloud remains over the box-off event as there is still uncertainty over where the five now stand in relation to selection.
It appears that after the Elite Championships are completed tomorrow, the IABA Boxing Council will recommend an Irish team for the World Championships to be ratified by the governing body.
Ireland’s High Performance coach Billy Walsh will also make his own team selection, which is expected to be considered by the IABA. It is highly unlikely that both teams will have the same names as the boxing council has said it will recommend the winners of this week’s event as the World Championship team.
In the event of Walsh’s selection greatly differing from that of the boxing council, then the IABA will have to make a call. It’s a bewildering process, not least of all because the five athletes that did not take part and would be a shoo-in to any national boxing team are recipients of top grants from the Irish Sports Council.
In February of this year the top Podium category grant was given to just 22 Irish athletes and eight of them were boxers, which was more than any other sport. Among those eight were Nevin, Barnes and O’Neill, who drew €40,000 each. Ward and Moylette were not included but will be on that amount when the next series of grants are allocated as they both won gold medals in this year’s European Championships.
That amounts to €200,000 worth of Irish boxers sweating it out because of a totally confused selection process.
If any of that group of five is not selected and the replacement fighter wins an Olympic qualifying spot for London next year then that place is gone. Regardless of next year’s final Olympic qualifying tournament, that weight category for Ireland has been taken.
“The High Performance would put forward a team I presume,” said Walsh yesterday. “Some of the lads who are not taking part here are back punching and some will be punching next week. I’d expect them to be okay. The majority of the time the High Performance team I’d put forward would be picked. Some have been changed. But I’d say 95 per cent of the time, it’s been the team.”
Walsh has also organised a training camp for Assisi in Italy beginning on August 19th, specifically to prepare the World Championship team. The deeper field of the World Championships is generally regarded as being a slightly tougher tournament in which to win a medal, although the Olympics is more prestigious.
Walsh is in an incredibly difficult position as he will be judged by the success of the team although committees in the association reserve the right to pick it.
In the past ex-High Performance Director Gary Keegan had to plead his case to have certain boxers selected. As yet, Ireland’s most successful Olympic, World and European Championship coach, Walsh, has no certainty about who he will be taking with him to the Italian training camp or the Baku World Championships.
