Sport

Paddy Barnes boycotts Lord Mayor's reception over boxing funding threat

Belfast boxing champions, from left, Paul Hyland, James Tennyson and Ryan Burnett with Lord Mayor Nuala McAllister at Belfast City Hall yesterday. Picture by Hugh Russell
Belfast boxing champions, from left, Paul Hyland, James Tennyson and Ryan Burnett with Lord Mayor Nuala McAllister at Belfast City Hall yesterday. Picture by Hugh Russell Belfast boxing champions, from left, Paul Hyland, James Tennyson and Ryan Burnett with Lord Mayor Nuala McAllister at Belfast City Hall yesterday. Picture by Hugh Russell

THREE-TIME Olympian Paddy Barnes boycotted a reception with the Lord Mayor of Belfast yesterday as a protest against plans to slash funding for grassroots boxing.

The Alliance Party’s Nuala McAllister hosted an event at City Hall for the four local boxers who recently won belts at shows in the city – Ryan Burnett (IBF World bantamweight title), James Tennyson (WBA International super featherweight title), Paul Hyland (IBF East/West Europe lightweight title) and Barnes (WBO European flyweight title).

But Barnes opted out as funding for the continuation of Belfast City Council’s boxing strategy looks set to be cut dramatically.

A 10-year strategy for the city - in partnership with the Co Antrim Boxing board, the Ulster Boxing Council, Sport Northern Ireland and the Irish Amateur Boxing Association (IABA) – began in 2013.

It was agreed that £200,000 per year would be allocated for three years for the implementation of phase one of the strategy, including funding for a sports development officer and two community-based coaches.

However, the council’s peoples and communities committee has proposed that only £24,000 should be allocated to support the strategy – less than a quarter of the £101,000 requested by IABA and the Co Antrim Board for the next three years.

One of those community-based coaches has already left their post, while the other two hang in the balance.

And while his son made his feelings known yesterday, Paddy Barnes snr – president of the Co Antrim Board – described the situation as “very frustrating”.

He said: “Obviously we’re not happy about it. We’re one of the principal stakeholders in this and nobody’s talking to us.

“Representatives of the Co Antrim Board, including myself, actually take responsibility for the strategy in terms of the funding and running events on behalf of the clubs.

“It’s a council strategy, it’s not just ours; it’s in partnership with us. It’s their idea that they’re basically not going to fund after agreeing it would run until 2020 – it’s absolutely ludicrous.

“We were actually going back to ask for it to be increased because every report that has gone back in front of these people, including the very last one at the end of last year, has been fantastic. Not one query about anything.

“The whole strategy is now in question. We’re supposed to have another three years of this, but now they’ve told us they can find £24,000 and that’s your lot.

“The whole thing is very frustrating.”

All may not be lost yet, though, with a meeting of the full council slated for Monday evening.

And Barnes snr hopes an agreement can be reached to secure more funding for the project.

He continued: “This goes before the council again on Monday night and the debating starts again.

“Boxing needs to be taken out of it – if they want to argue about the rest of the stuff, go ahead, but this boxing strategy is a Belfast city strategy.

“We’ve done all the work, people have seen what good work we’re doing, and now it’s all in jeopardy.

“There’s a bigger picture to all of this. We’re doing things to get kids boxing who wouldn’t otherwise be boxing. If they’re not boxing they’re going to leave [the sport], so it gives them a carrot and keeps them at it.

“We’ve been holding development squad training for the kids but we’ve also sent teams to Belgium and Paris recently. If we didn’t have those things for the older boxers, they wouldn’t be boxing.

“Young Brendan Irvine boxed in one against Germany three years ago, Sean McComb as well, Kurt Walker, Michaela Walsh, and it has been of vital importance for them and lots of boxers of all ages.”

Cealan Doherty and Danny McHugh, from Two Castles, won national cadet titles last Friday night. McHugh goes on to represent Ireland at 62kg in the upcoming European Schoolboy Championships, but unfortunately for Doherty his 31kg class is below the European qualifying weights. “We say we are happy when the boxers perform, regardless of the result, but both lads boxed really well and won,” said John Gallagher, from the Newtownstewart-based club. “This is the sixth Irish national title this season for the club, and with six different boxers. A few more hit the bar, but they are still with us - they won't give up. Their time will come as well.” There was one other Ulster winner at the national cadet championship finals, with Maydown Olympic’s Cahir Gormley taking the 44.5kg title scoring a unanimous victory over Midleton’s Ewan Donnelly
Cealan Doherty and Danny McHugh, from Two Castles, won national cadet titles last Friday night. McHugh goes on to represent Ireland at 62kg in the upcoming European Schoolboy Championships, but unfortunately for Doherty his 31kg class is below the Europea Cealan Doherty and Danny McHugh, from Two Castles, won national cadet titles last Friday night. McHugh goes on to represent Ireland at 62kg in the upcoming European Schoolboy Championships, but unfortunately for Doherty his 31kg class is below the European qualifying weights. “We say we are happy when the boxers perform, regardless of the result, but both lads boxed really well and won,” said John Gallagher, from the Newtownstewart-based club. “This is the sixth Irish national title this season for the club, and with six different boxers. A few more hit the bar, but they are still with us - they won't give up. Their time will come as well.” There was one other Ulster winner at the national cadet championship finals, with Maydown Olympic’s Cahir Gormley taking the 44.5kg title scoring a unanimous victory over Midleton’s Ewan Donnelly

LEFT HOOKS

HE may be coveted by a host of promoters in the professional game, but newly-crowned European champion Joe Ward has set his sights on adding gold at the World Championships to his ever-expanding medal haul.

Michael Conlan is the only Irishman to have reached the top of the podium at the Worlds when he landed bantamweight gold two years ago, with Ward losing to Cuba’s Julio La Cruz in the light-heavyweight final the same year, following on from a 2013 bronze in Almaty.

Speculation has mounted in recent months that Ward could be on the verge of a move into the paid ranks, but the Westmeath man insists he plans to be in Hamburg in August for the Worlds.

Indeed, he will only be 26 by the time the next Olympics come around and, with young guns Brendan Irvine and Kurt Walker landing bronze in Kharkiv last week, the omens are good.

“The World Championships is something I’d like to go to. A gold medal there is the only medal I’m missing,” said Ward.

“It’s a very young team, we have lost some experienced fighters, but we’re looking forward to Tokyo.

“This team will be very successful in the future and we have a lot of good people around us. It’s all positive.”

It is sometimes taken for granted just how much Ward has achieved at a young age.

It is six years since, as a 17-year-old, he dethroned 2008 Olympic silver medallist Ken Egan, winning his first European title later in 2011.

In attempting to defend that title two years later, Ward suffered a dislocated kneecap on his way to a routine last 16 win.

However, in Bulgaria in 2015 he was back at the top of the podium before repeating the dose on Saturday to secure back-to-back titles.

"It was always going to be a tough fight, but I stuck to my game-plan and I was really comfortable in there and always in control," he said after a unanimous victory over Russia’s Muslim Gadzhimagomedov.

"I’m so proud to be coming home with another gold medal, I’m so happy because I had a very disappointing 2016 and everybody wrote me off.

“I’m so happy to have righted the wrongs from Rio and prove my worth in the ring.”