Barry: This one’s for you dad
THE TRAINER’S VIEW
Kevin Barry labelled coaching Joseph Parker to the WBO title the highlight of his long and storied boxing career.
Barry also paid tribute to his late father as he soaked up Parker’s gutsy majority points victory over Mexico’s Andy Ruiz, which saw him win the world heavyweight title in Auckland on Saturday night.
Barry’s successful career as an amateur fighter included winning a light-heavyweight bronze medal at the 1982 Commonwealth Games and Olympics silver at Los Angeles two years later. He was coached by his father Kevin Barry Sr and followed his footsteps into the tough world of training.
Barry said his thoughts had been with his late father before and after the fight. An ’’old-school’’ trainer, he still uses many of his father’s methods on Parker. He had promised his father he would one day train a world heavyweight champion and that had finally happened.
‘‘He will be happy, won’t he? He will be looking down, he will be pretty proud,’’ an exhausted but happy Barry said.
Barry had been close before, taking David Tua to a world title fight against Lennox Lewis in Las Vegas in 2000 but losing a onesided affair by unanimous points.
He had gained pleasure in subsequently overseeing Beibut Shumenov (Kazakhstan) to the WBA world light heavyweight title in 2010 but Parker’s achievement took things to a new level.
The long and bitter fallout with Tua hit Barry hard personally and he thought long and hard about getting involved in the New Zealand scene again but found the talent and potential of Parker irresistible.
‘‘It’s the most special moment in my boxing career. Being there with Tua in 2000 was good and I won one with Shumenov.
‘‘But for it to be here in New Zealand with Joe, someone I have so much respect for, somebody I love so much ... and for him to pull it off and create history in New Zealand and for me to be part of it ... it’s something very, very special.’’