BOXING:IRISH AMATEUR boxing has been thrown into chaos after five of the most recognisable names in the sport did not turn up for yesterday's weigh-in at the National Stadium. The weigh-in was for an elite competition arranged by the Irish Amateur Boxing Association (IABA) over four days to select the team for next month's World Championships in Azerbaijan.
This year’s European champions Joe Ward and Ray Moylette, Beijing Olympic bronze medallist Paddy Barnes, 2010 European silver medallist Darren O’Neill and 2009 World Championship bronze medallist John Joe Nevin, the backbone of the Ireland team, had officially registered but did not make the weigh-in and may have excluded themselves from selection for the World Championships.
There is an assumption that they are injured but nobody is yet certain as to why there was a no show, although O’Neill had previously stated he was struggling with a hand injury. It was clear prior to yesterday that some boxers were not happy with the arrangement of a box-off.
A statement from the IABA’s Boxing Council earlier this month said that when the team comes up for ratification for the World Championships on August 20th they will “be recommending that the winners from this week’s Open Unseeded Elite Championships will be the team for the 2011 AIBA World Championships.”
The wording in the statement does not leave much wriggle room, unless the Boxing Council’s recommendations subsequently go unheeded.
It is unknown at this stage just what will happen if the 17-year-old Ward, unbeaten since he fought in the seniors this year, is not selected in the light heavyweight division (Ken Egan has moved up a weight division to heavyweight, thus avoiding conflict with Ward). The same goes for Moylette in the 64kg class for Baku.
Both are rated highly enough to be seeded in the World Championships and are prospects to qualify for London 2012 with podium finishes. Their absence from the team along with Belfast light flyweight Barnes, middleweight O’Neill and bantamweight Nevin would gravely damage Irish boxing hopes for the Olympics.
