Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
THE HALL OF FAME
Fighting Irish continue to carry the torch in world boxing.. greatness is in our DNA
IRELAND’S illustrious boxing history is long established - boasting a number of former and current world champions among its ranks.
From Barry Mcguigan and Steve Collins to Katie Taylor and Carl Frampton, our ‘Fighting Irish’ moniker is fully merited. Here, in no particular order whatsoever, Mirrorsport pays homage to some of these greats.
BARRY MCGUIGAN
Featherweight
WHEN Northern
Ireland was tearing itself apart with political and sectarian unrest, a little man from Clones helped bridge the religious divide. Popular the country over, Mcguigan won the hearts of a nation. OK, he assaulted our ears with the truly terrible ‘Thank you very, very much Mr Eastwood’. And his ‘stingy nettle’ flavour crisps were a crime against our national crop. But he more than made up for it with thrilling nights at the King’s Hall and an unforgettable world title win over Eusebio Pedroza at Loftus Road in 1985. The torch carrier for Irish boxing, wee Barry won 32 of his 35 fights, retiring in 1989.
BERNARD DUNNE
Super bantamweight
THE Dublin Dynamo was a huge favourite of Irish boxing fans.
Learning his trade at the Wild Card alongside Manny Pacquiao – Dunne landed the WBA world title in 2009 and only lost twice in 30 pro fights.
After he picked himself off the canvas twice to win the world title against Ricardo Cordoba, ESPN voted it as their fight of the year.
The ballsy little superbantam was unable to defend his belt though, losing it on his first defence.
WAYNE MCCULLOUGH
Bantamweight
LONG before Graeme Mcdowell claimed the undisputed title of most cringeworthy Irish/american accent in history, a little man from the Woodvale in Belfast was already blazing a trail in that regard.
After claiming a silver medal at the 1992 Barcelona games, the Pocket Rocket turned down the chance to join Barney Eastwood’s stable and based himself in Las Vegas instead.
And while he did pick up the local dialect (sort of), he also learned an array of new tricks that would take him all the way to a world title in 1995 and help him carve out a reputation as one of the toughest little b ****** s in the sport.
The great Erik Morales admitted Mccullough almost made him quit on his stool. Tough as old boots with an incredible engine, it was only his lack of power that stopped the Belfast man from winning even more. He just refused to go away.
Maybe too brave for his own good sometimes, though, as his battering at the hands of Scott Harrison proved. Will go down in history as an all-time Irish great.
JOHN DUDDY
Middleweight
THE darling of Madison Square Garden, Derry man Duddy lost only two of his 31 pro bouts.
Too handsome to be boxer, Duddy took up acting when he quit the sport in 2010 following his defeat to Julio Cesar Chavez Jnr in Texas.
BRIAN MAGEE
Super middleweight
A PRODUCT of the Holy Trinty boxing club in Belfast, Magee went on to claim British,
European and world titles at super middleweight.
Was afraid of no man and stepped into the ring with Carl Froch,
Lucian Bute and Mikkel Kessler.
KATIE TAYLOR
Lightweight
THE quietly-spoken Bray lady might look like the girl next door but don’t be fooled – she is the meanest woman to walk this planet since Nurse Ratched. ‘KT’ has a legitimate claim on being one of the greatest female boxers of all time – sweeping up every world title in the division with a perfect 15 from 15 record. Her gold medal at the
London Olympics in 2012 thrust her into super stardom and she was snapped up by Eddie Hearn. KT turned pro in 2016 and she hasn’t looked back.
The coronavirus crisis appears to have KO’D her chances of fighting Amanda Serrano in May – with the American out for revenge after Taylor ragdolled her sister, Cindy.
CARL FRAMPTON
Super bantamweight
THE lippy Tiger’s Bay man will go down as one of the island’s greatest ever. A protege of Barry Mcguigan before their acrimonious split, Frampton has absolutely everything in his locker.
Won a world title by beating Leo Santa Cruz in a memorable night in Las Vegas. Narrowly lost the rematch and was well beaten by Josh Warrington but still has the appetite to regain his world belts.
Was due to fight WBO Junior Lightweight champion Jamel Herring but those plans have been thrown into doubt by the coronavirus crisis.
Like Mcguigan, Frampton has helped bridge the religious and sectarian divide, drawing fans from all over the country.
ANDY LEE
Middleweight
A DISCIPLE of Manny Steward at the Kronk gym in Detroit, Lee had class written all over him. Involved in a memorable tear-up with Peter Quillan that ended in a draw.
STEVE COLLINS
Super middleweight
WARRIOR by name, warrior by nature. Collins was hard as a coffin nail and was one of the only men to put the granite chinned Chris Eubank on his backside.
Came up the hard way fighting out of America, the Dubliner posted 16 wins on the trot before losing to then WBA middleweight champion Mike Mccallum.
In what was a golden era for British middleweights, wrecking ball Collins took Chris Pyatt’s WBO world title strap before back-to-back victories over Eubank and Nigel Benn. The Celtic Warrior went on to defend the super middleweight title he won from Eubank seven times.
Collins repeatedly called out Roy Jones Jnr but the fight wasn’t made. Some say Jones ducked. Collins retired in 1999 after collapsing in sparring before a proposed fight with Joe Calzaghe.
TYSON FURY
Heavyweight
WELL is he or isn’t he? Tyson Fury was born in Manchester but, according to the man himself, is proud to be Irish – and that is good enough for us.
With a father from Galway and an Irishborn mother, Fury won the Irish heavyweight title by beating Martin Rogan at the Odyssey Arena in 2012.
He went on to topple long-reigning lineal champion Wladimir Klitschko in Germany to win five different versions of the heavyweight strap.
After a hiatus of almost three years, Fury faced Deontay Wilder in LA and got off the canvas in the 12th to claim a disputed draw in arguably the greatest comeback boxing has ever seen. Made no mistake in the rematch last month, battering Wilder senseless to reclaim his title. Best heavyweight in the world by a mile.