RTÉ’S IRISH BOXING pundits Kellie Harrington and Michael Carruth played down the loss of high-performance coach Billy Walsh after another disappointing result saw Joe Ward lose at the Rio Olympics tonight.
It’s been a disastrous few days for Irish boxing, with medal hopes Paddy Barnes and Ward getting beaten, while Michael O’Reilly was sent home for failing a drugs test and David Oliver Joyce also lost out.
Former boxer Bernard Dunne acknowledged: “There’s no doubt our team hasn’t performed so far.”
However, when asked by presenter Aidan Power whether the acrimonious departure of high-performance coach Billy Walsh was a significant factor in what has been a disastrous few days for Irish boxing, Dubliner Kellie Harrington — who currently competes in the high-performance unit — played down suggestions that this was the case.
Similarly, 1992 Olympics gold medallist Michael Carruth — whose brother Fergal is the CEO of the Irish Amateur Boxing Association and was at the centre of the Walsh controversy — also denied the experienced coach’s exit had a significant influence on recent disappointing results.
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Instead, Carruth argued that Barnes’ struggles to make weight and Ward’s failure to perform were the primary factors in the recent failures, while suggesting that Ireland overperforms at the Olympics in boxing and that medals are not easy to come by.
The former boxer also suggested that the coaches’ role in the sport tends to be exaggerated and the athletes themselves were primarily responsible for their performance.
Meanwhile, RTÉ received some criticism on social media for their failure to acknowledge Carruth’s link with the IABA, while many disagreed that Walsh’s absence was unimportant.
How can RTÈ not acknowledge Carruth's ties to the IABA when discussing Walsh?
RTÉ's Irish boxing pundits play down loss of Billy Walsh after Joe Ward defeat
RTÉ’S IRISH BOXING pundits Kellie Harrington and Michael Carruth played down the loss of high-performance coach Billy Walsh after another disappointing result saw Joe Ward lose at the Rio Olympics tonight.
It’s been a disastrous few days for Irish boxing, with medal hopes Paddy Barnes and Ward getting beaten, while Michael O’Reilly was sent home for failing a drugs test and David Oliver Joyce also lost out.
Former boxer Bernard Dunne acknowledged: “There’s no doubt our team hasn’t performed so far.”
However, when asked by presenter Aidan Power whether the acrimonious departure of high-performance coach Billy Walsh was a significant factor in what has been a disastrous few days for Irish boxing, Dubliner Kellie Harrington — who currently competes in the high-performance unit — played down suggestions that this was the case.
Similarly, 1992 Olympics gold medallist Michael Carruth — whose brother Fergal is the CEO of the Irish Amateur Boxing Association and was at the centre of the Walsh controversy — also denied the experienced coach’s exit had a significant influence on recent disappointing results.
Instead, Carruth argued that Barnes’ struggles to make weight and Ward’s failure to perform were the primary factors in the recent failures, while suggesting that Ireland overperforms at the Olympics in boxing and that medals are not easy to come by.
The former boxer also suggested that the coaches’ role in the sport tends to be exaggerated and the athletes themselves were primarily responsible for their performance.
Meanwhile, RTÉ received some criticism on social media for their failure to acknowledge Carruth’s link with the IABA, while many disagreed that Walsh’s absence was unimportant.
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