Irish 2008 Olympic Boxers Turing Pro????

03mcgs0

I noticed this forum getting a bit quite so I’m going to get the ball rolling and get head of myself and ask who out of the Irish Olympic squad will turn pro and if they do how far would you expect them to go? .. Irish title…. European title…....... World Champ??!!! All profiles taken from the OCI site.

Kenneth Egan

Boxing - Light Heavyweight
This stylish southpaw has been the Irish champion for almost a decade. Now 26, his vast experience and an array of gold medal performances around the world have made him a legendary figure in Irish amateur boxing.
Kenneth is the Irish boxing team captain and is based in the Neilstown club in West Dublin. He won gold at the Olympic qualifying tournament in Greece - a great achievement from a dynamic boxer now reaching the peak of his career.
Date of Birth: 7th January 1982
Place of Birth: Dublin
Personal Details: Ht. 187cm Wt. 81kg
Event: Light Heavyweight
Coach: Gerard Fleming
Club: Neilstown Boxing Club
Competitive Results:
National Champion 2005 World Championships Last 16
National Champion 2006 European Bronze
National Champion 2007 World Championships Last 16
National Champion 2008

Darren Sutherland

Boxing - Middleweight
One of the hardest hitters in European boxing, this hugely experienced Olympic challenger from Dublin is ranked 3rd in Europe and 10th in the world. Aged 26, Darren boxes with the St. Saviour's Club and is now performing at the highest level following a period of injury.
He is a regular gold medalist at championships worldwide and makes his Olympic debut following his gold medal win at the Beijing Olympic qualification tournament in Greece. Darren is a scholarship athlete at DCU where he is studying for a sports science and health degree. His power punching and excellent ring craft will prove crucial for Ireland's medal hopes in Beijing.
Date of Birth: 18th April 1982
Place of Birth: Dublin
Personal Details: Ht. 182cm Wt. 75kg
Event: Middleweight
Coach: John McCormick and Jimmy Haldin
Club: St. Saviours OBC
Competitive Results:
National Senior Champion, 2005
Last 8 of World Championships, 2005
National Senior Champion 2006, 2007
Last 16 of World Championships, 2007
European Union Gold Medalist, 2007

John Joe Joyce

Boxing - Light Welterweight
John Joe comes from a famous Kildare boxing family and is a member of the St. Michael's Club in Athy, the nursery of many renowned Irish boxing internationals.
His all-action two fisted style, combined with a terrific ring sense, has made him the best at his weight in Ireland and a gold medal winner at the recent Beijing Olympic qualifying tournament in Athens. Only 20, he is a major prospect, a young man who is going places, and an exciting boxer that could do very well in China.
Date of Birth:17 October 1987
Place of Birth: Limerick
Personal Details: Ht. 177 Wt. 64
Event: Light Welterweight
Coach: Dom O'Rourke
Club: St. Michael's Club
Competitive Results:
European Junior Bronze Medal 2005, 2006
World Championship Last 8, 2006
Senior Champion 2005, 2006, 2007

John Joe Nevin

Boxing - Bantamweight
This exciting teenager (he's only 18) hails from Mullingar and boxes out of Cavan Boxing Club. He has got the whole of Westmeath and Cavan behind his Olympic challenge which took off when he achieved qualification for the Beijing Olympics in Pescara, Italy in February.
His rapid rise from a promising junior to Irish senior champion, and now a realistic Beijing contender, is the talk of Irish boxing circles. A keen football fan (his hero is Cristiano Ronaldo), he brings a taste of Ronaldo's style to his performances in the ring. His Olympic debut is very eagerly awaited.
Date of Birth: 7th, June 1989
Place of Birth: Mullingar
Personal Details: Ht. 170cm Wt. 54kg
Event: Batamweight
Coach: Brian McKeown
Club: Cavan
Competitive Results:
National Junior Champion 2006, 2007
National Intermediate 2006
National Champion 2008


Paddy Barnes

Boxing - Light Flyweight
Paddy was the first Irish boxer to qualify for the Beijing Olympics, winning his spot at the World Championships in Chicago in November. Aged 21, he boxes out of the renowned Holy Family Club in Belfast.
A truely artful boxer, he is the surprise package of the Irish team and could go all the way in Beijing depending on the draw. He is also a good bet for the London 2012 Olympic Games.
Date of Birth: 9th April 1987
Place of Birth: Belfast
Personal Details: Wt. 48
Event: Light Flyweight
Club: Holy Family Club
Competitive Results:
5th Place, World Championship, 2007
1st Place, Commonwealth Championship, 2007
1st Place, National Championship 2007, 2008


Darren Sutherland more or less said that he's going to turn pro after the games and this might be Kenny Egan's time at 26 to turn pro??

John Joe Joyce, Patrick Barns and John Joe Nevin are all young and I think they should and will stay away from the pro ranks for the forseeable future.....


What do you think....

Big Ears

Sutherland will be turning pro and for my money he'll make a very good one . He has the perfect style for the pros and carries quite a lot of power . I can see him being European level at least .

Other than that I can't see any of them(bar maybe Egan) turning pro unless they happen to win a medal .

Mazletov

John Joe Nevin seems to be a good talent. As far as I'm concerned any 18 year old who qualifies for the Olympics is good enough to go pro. If he gets far at the Olmypics then I can imagine a foreign offer, if not he could give it four more years.

Big Ears

Mazletov wrote: »

John Joe Nevin seems to be a good talent. As far as I'm concerned any 18 year old who qualifies for the Olympics is good enough to go pro. If he gets far at the Olmypics then I can imagine a foreign offer, if not he could give it four more years.

But one of the reasons for his success is his style is so suited to amateur boxing, he'd have to change it quite a lot if he went pro or he just wouldn't be success .

Well either that or he would be a success but an extremely boring one like Cory Spinks .

sligobhoy67

I think I said on here that I happened to be passing the Mansion House whilst on a stag do in Dublin and passing a few hours before going to get my flight and happened to witness a civic reception for the Irish boxing team.

Anyway I saunter over and get a few photos for the wikipedia and spoke to a couple of them - Ken Egan was particularly approachable and I asked him about turning pro - he said if he got a medal then he would and if not he'd fight in the worlds in Liverpool which I think is in November

Big Ears

sligobhoy67 wrote: »

I think I said on here that I happened to be passing the Mansion House whilst on a stag do in Dublin and passing a few hours before going to get my flight and happened to witness a civic reception for the Irish boxing team.

Anyway I saunter over and get a few photos for the wikipedia and spoke to a couple of them - Ken Egan was particularly approachable and I asked him about turning pro - he said if he got a medal then he would and if not he'd fight in the worlds in Liverpool which I think is in November

That's the European Championships that are on in Liverpool in November .

Dodge

I've talked to Ken about this before. He basically said he wouldn't turn pro just for the sake of it. He loves boxing though and said he'd probably always be involved with the game. He did indicate that if he happened to medal at the Olympics and received a good offer, he'd have to at least consider it

yomchi

I heard over at the Stadium that Egan was turning Pro and that Phil Sutcliffe was going to be his Pro trainer. Interesting turn about, we may get a pro gym in Dublin after all

jayroyal

Ye phil is taking on a good few lads i was told Ormond is training there already with a few other dublin lads. Hope phil does well wit them he loves his boxing more than anyone i know.
I think darren has the best style for the pro's but him and kenny have been on the floor already so thats no a strong point but hey darren can bang so he'd be exciting.

joepenguin

Maybe they could stay on to all go for the Europeans? depending on how the olympics go obviously. Id like to see them on some pro cards on tv3 or rte after the olympics, kind of like what Khan did before he tunred pro.