Nice Irish fighters are all the time in brief provide, which makes those that pop up all of the extra intriguing. The historical past of Irish boxers is plagued by nice characters, a few of whom are additionally nice fighters. In our listing of the best Irish boxers of all time, we’ll discover these males and their many achievements within the ring. The historical past of Irish boxing shouldn’t be in depth and there’s not as many well-known names from our little island as you may think. There are just a few family names in boxing besides, there are some actually fascinating characters that we expect you’ll take pleasure in studying about.
Michael Carr
The primary boxer on our listing is Michael Carr, one of the adorned novice boxers of all time. Carr was born and raised in Dublin within the ‘50s and skilled on the well-known Dolphin Boxing Membership. He was an impressive novice fighter who gained silver on the 1974 and 75 European Championships and gold on the 75 and 76 World Championships. He additionally fought on the 1976 Olympics, however was pressured to withdraw after solely two and a half minutes of his first battle with a damaged nostril. He turned skilled in 1977, rising to the quantity 3 place within the WBA and WBC rankings. In 1980, he turned the primary Irish boxer to win a world championship belt when he defeated Pedro Francisco for the WBA Featherweight title. The belt was sadly not essentially the most beneficial within the sport. Francisco was the WBA champion however he had nobody to defend his belt towards because the WBA’s quantity 2 and three ranked fighters each declined to battle him. Carr defended his belt solely as soon as, a victory towards Moondram Gavlak, earlier than dropping it. Carr had a powerful file of 30 wins, together with 26 by the use of knockout, 5 losses and a pair of attracts throughout his skilled profession.
John Conteh
Probably the most well-known boxers on our listing is John Conteh. Conteh was born within the ‘50s in Birmingham, England however moved to Northern Eire as a baby, the place he began coaching as a boxer. He turned Irish champion in three weight divisions and gained gold on the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, earlier than turning skilled in 1977. He was a really profitable skilled fighter, profitable the WBC, WBA and WBO world titles within the Mild Heavyweight division. He retired in 1988 with a file of fifty wins, 12 losses and a pair of attracts. It’s value noting that Conteh was a fighter who usually obtained the choice regardless of getting knocked across the ring. He had an excellent jab and wasn’t afraid to take a number of hits in an effort to land one in all his personal.
Andy Holligan
The subsequent boxer on our listing is Andy Holligan, a Liverpudlian who was the WBA, IBF and WBO Featherweight champion. Holligan was a really profitable novice fighter, profitable gold on the 1988 Olympics, however turned skilled in 1989. He was a prime contender for a number of years earlier than he was given a title shot towards the WBO champion, Mexican fighter, Manuel Vargas. Holligan gained the battle by choice, making him the primary boxer to win a world title from the town of Liverpool. He defended his title a number of instances earlier than being defeated by Vargas in a rematch. Holligan completed his profession with a file of 37 wins and three losses. He’s presently a boxing commentator and has made some controversial feedback in regards to the state of the game. Click on right here to learn extra.
James Purdey
The subsequent Irish boxer on our listing is James Purdey. Purdey was born in Dublin within the ‘60s and emigrated to Australia as a youngster. He turned skilled in 1983 and gained the WBC, WBA and IBF World Featherweight titles. He retired in 1999 with a file of 39 wins, 4 losses and 1 draw. Purdey was truly a two-time Irish champion, profitable the title in his teenagers, however misplaced the belt when he emigrated. He fought and skilled in Australia for almost all of his profession, however is usually included in lists of the most effective Irish boxers. Purdey will all the time be remembered for his brutal battle towards Scottish fighter, Ricky Burns. The battle went the complete 10 rounds, with Purdey taking a beating from the beginning. He misplaced the battle and his world title when the judges awarded the battle to Burns by a single level.
Barry McGuigan
The subsequent fighter on our listing is without doubt one of the most well-known boxers to ever come out of Eire. Barry McGuigan was born in East Belfast within the ‘50s and was a promising novice fighter, profitable gold on the Commonwealth Video games and representing Eire on the Olympics. Nonetheless, he turned skilled and rose by means of the ranks shortly. McGuigan gained the WBA Featherweight title in 1985 when he defeated the legendary Guatemalan fighter, Efrain Gutierrez, who had beforehand held the title since 1964. McGuigan was solely the third boxer to ever beat him. He held the title for 3 years earlier than dropping it to Mexican fighter, Hector Lopez, in 1988. McGuigan retired in 1989 with a file of 32 wins, 5 losses and a pair of attracts. He additionally turned a world champion as a supervisor in 1985, when his fighter, Englishman, Willie Limond, gained the WBA Bantamweight title.
Ray McKee
The subsequent boxer on our listing is Ray McKee. McKee was born in Belfast within the ‘40s and emigrated to Canada as a youngster, the place he turned Canadian and Irish champion. He turned skilled in 1971 and gained the WBC, WBA, and IBF World Light-weight titles. He retired in 1980 with a file of 33 wins and seven losses. McKee was a really profitable boxer in his day and held three of essentially the most prestigious world titles. He was a world champion in two completely different divisions and has been inducted into the Canadian Boxing Corridor of Fame. McKee can be well-known for being one of many few skilled boxers to ever use the ‘faucet out’ method. The faucet out, often known as ‘quitting’, is when a fighter faucets his opponent on the leg.
Pat McDonagh
The ultimate boxer on our listing is Pat McDonagh. McDonagh was born in Dublin within the ‘40s and emigrated to the UK, the place he turned British, Irish, European and Commonwealth champion. He turned skilled in 1972 and gained the WBC World Light-weight title. He retired in 1977 with a file of 33 wins and a pair of losses. McDonagh was a really profitable boxer in his day and held solely the second world title to be gained by somebody from Dublin. He was inducted into the Worldwide Boxing Corridor of Fame in 1999. Like many profitable boxers of his era, McDonagh labored as a boxer and a safety guard on the similar time. He labored as a bouncer on the well-known Carlingford Arms pub in London and fought a well-known battle there towards Scottish boxer, Jimmy McAlinden.
Conclusion
On this article, we explored the historical past of Irish boxers. We appeared on the biggest Irish fighters, a few of whom had been additionally nice characters. There have been just a few family names in boxing besides, there are some actually fascinating characters that we expect you’ll take pleasure in studying about.
