PADDY BARNES HAS hit back at claims that losing Billy Walsh has damaged his team-mates’ shot at Olympic qualification.
Six Irish boxers have already booked their place on the plane to Rio with Brendan Irvine and David Oliver Joyce coming through qualifiers this month to join Barnes, Michael Conlan, Steven Donnelly and Joe Ward.
But seven other Irish fighters fell short at the European Qualifiers in Samsun, including a shock first defeat in five years for reigning world and Olympic champion Katie Taylor.
London 2012 veteran Darren O’Neill and world bronze medallist Michael O’Reilly were among the others to miss out, though all of the Irish hopefuls will have at least one more chance later this summer.
Barnes rubbished the suggestion that more boxers would have qualified if Walsh was still in place as high performance chief, and backed his replacement Zaur Antia to lead the squad to medal glory.
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“Whoever says that hasn’t a clue about what goes on in Irish boxing,” Barnes told The42. ”It’s just a ridiculous statement.
“Zaur has never got the recognition he deserves. He’s a tactical and technical genius.
Irish boxing is where it is now because of Zaur Antia, and that’s a fact.
Bronze medallist at Beijing in 2008 and in London four years ago, Barnes is hoping it will be third time lucky in the light-flyweight division this summer.
It was confirmed yesterday that he will carry the Irish flag at the opening ceremony in the Maracana Stadium on 5 August, an honour which he said is “as big as winning a medal.”
The Belfast puncher has spoken in the past about his struggles in attracting sponsorship, and even tried to drum up some of his own publicity by advertising his Twitter handle during TV interviews in London.
With 100 days to go until his third Olympics, he says nothing has changed in terms of financial support.
“It’s probably been a lot worse actually because I’m from the North and I’m getting paid in euro, and the euro is very very weak, so I’m actually worse off,” he explained.
“A lot of people know who I am but I’m not really a household name I don’t think, am I? You’d be surprised.
Profile to me means nothing. That’s why I think I haven’t got a profile because nobody wants to sponsor me. I’ve never been sponsored in my life.
“I have no choice but to live with it. It would really, really help me if I was sponsored. It would put my mind at ease, I’d feel more appreciated, and then I’d be more confident.”
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'Irish boxing is where it is now because of Zaur Antia, and that's a fact'
PADDY BARNES HAS hit back at claims that losing Billy Walsh has damaged his team-mates’ shot at Olympic qualification.
Six Irish boxers have already booked their place on the plane to Rio with Brendan Irvine and David Oliver Joyce coming through qualifiers this month to join Barnes, Michael Conlan, Steven Donnelly and Joe Ward.
But seven other Irish fighters fell short at the European Qualifiers in Samsun, including a shock first defeat in five years for reigning world and Olympic champion Katie Taylor.
London 2012 veteran Darren O’Neill and world bronze medallist Michael O’Reilly were among the others to miss out, though all of the Irish hopefuls will have at least one more chance later this summer.
Barnes rubbished the suggestion that more boxers would have qualified if Walsh was still in place as high performance chief, and backed his replacement Zaur Antia to lead the squad to medal glory.
“Whoever says that hasn’t a clue about what goes on in Irish boxing,” Barnes told The42. ”It’s just a ridiculous statement.
“Zaur has never got the recognition he deserves. He’s a tactical and technical genius.
Bronze medallist at Beijing in 2008 and in London four years ago, Barnes is hoping it will be third time lucky in the light-flyweight division this summer.
It was confirmed yesterday that he will carry the Irish flag at the opening ceremony in the Maracana Stadium on 5 August, an honour which he said is “as big as winning a medal.”
The Belfast puncher has spoken in the past about his struggles in attracting sponsorship, and even tried to drum up some of his own publicity by advertising his Twitter handle during TV interviews in London.
With 100 days to go until his third Olympics, he says nothing has changed in terms of financial support.
“It’s probably been a lot worse actually because I’m from the North and I’m getting paid in euro, and the euro is very very weak, so I’m actually worse off,” he explained.
“A lot of people know who I am but I’m not really a household name I don’t think, am I? You’d be surprised.
“I have no choice but to live with it. It would really, really help me if I was sponsored. It would put my mind at ease, I’d feel more appreciated, and then I’d be more confident.”
The42 is on Snapchat! Tap the button below on your phone to add!
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2016 Olympics Billy Walsh Boxing Paddy Barnes Rio 2016 Road to Rio Zaur Antia