Boxing Thread

[Mikhail Prokhorov]

golf, snooker, darts etc would not count imo as they do not require any physical fitness bar walking

boxing would have to be one of the most grueling disciplines so katie has to be in the discussion

our most decorated sportsperson is still michelle smith 

[nrico2006]

Don't see how Harrington is ahead of McIlroy as majors are pretty much the universal currency in the golf world and McIlroy has more.

Taylor is definitely in the discussion but womens boxing is a minority sport, its literally a different sport than the mens one.  Never thought about who was the best before, but you are going to find it hard to better George Best at his peak.

Its good to see people being positive role models etc. too, but that shouldn't be key criteria when coming up with the winner.

No it isn't a minority sport. As I pointed out before, that's an ambiguous metric, because where do you draw the line. You don't get to decide what sports are above a certain number of participant threshold before it can be included in the debate.
By your logic of pointing out that she's a female, would suggest that no female can ever be included in any of these debates, as by your logic it's not worth as much or as have enough competitors compared to men's sport and therefore should be brushed off, which is ludicrous.
The facts are she has the best sporting achievements in the history of this country.

It is a minority sport and that factors into the decision making process. Probably the same kind of reason that Paul Brady isn't in these kind of debates also, he won a load of world titles in a sport that would fall into the same bracket.

[laoislad]

golf, snooker, darts etc would not count imo as they do not require any physical fitness bar walking

boxing would have to be one of the most grueling disciplines so katie has to be in the discussion

our most decorated sportsperson is still michelle smith 

I'd love to see some of these fellas who call it a minority sport get into the ring with Katie, or any of the female boxers 

[From the Bunker]

Katie was unfortunate that she had to wait for sports bodies to catch up. London 2012 was the first time of Women's boxing in the Olympics. Because of a lack of role models and competitions, not many females nailed their sporting hopes to the Boxing mast. Katie was the exception. You'd expect with role models like Taylor, the sport will get more participants and the standards will also rise. Talented girls today (because of Taylor) see a path and have role models.

I do believe that Katie is of a high standard, but her piers are less so.

[GiveItToTheShooters]

Don't see how Harrington is ahead of McIlroy as majors are pretty much the universal currency in the golf world and McIlroy has more.

Taylor is definitely in the discussion but womens boxing is a minority sport, its literally a different sport than the mens one.  Never thought about who was the best before, but you are going to find it hard to better George Best at his peak.

Its good to see people being positive role models etc. too, but that shouldn't be key criteria when coming up with the winner.

No it isn't a minority sport. As I pointed out before, that's an ambiguous metric, because where do you draw the line. You don't get to decide what sports are above a certain number of participant threshold before it can be included in the debate.
By your logic of pointing out that she's a female, would suggest that no female can ever be included in any of these debates, as by your logic it's not worth as much or as have enough competitors compared to men's sport and therefore should be brushed off, which is ludicrous.
The facts are she has the best sporting achievements in the history of this country.

It is a minority sport and that factors into the decision making process. Probably the same kind of reason that Paul Brady isn't in these kind of debates also, he won a load of world titles in a sport that would fall into the same bracket.

I see you didn't address what I said.
Boxing isn't a minority sport, whatever "minority" is. You don't get to decide which sports have more weight over another as one may or may not have more participants. An ambiguous metric.
She's our most decorated athlete, it's that simple.

[Milltown Row2]

It's a minority sport because the numbers are low, boxing has been about for 100's years, and it's always been a male dominated sport, it's a bit like saying ladies football is the same as men's football in terms of Dublin men's and Cork ladies, not even close

[nrico2006]

There are only apparently around 2000 professional female boxers in the world.

[GiveItToTheShooters]

It's a minority sport because the numbers are low, boxing has been about for 100's years, and it's always been a male dominated sport, it's a bit like saying ladies football is the same as men's football in terms of Dublin men's and Cork ladies, not even close

It isn't though.
Low compared to what sports? Any evidence to back that up? It's our most successful sport on the international stage
Male dominated sport is irrelevant. She's not male. Pointing that out only discriminates against her achievements, as by that logic, male achievements are worth more and females can't be counted.
Your Dublin cork analogy makes no sense either, they're both the best teams in the own competition, and is irrelevant to Katie Taylor.

[Milltown Row2]

There are 2000 registered female professional boxers, apparently. So it's not a minority sport? What a thicko

[nrico2006]

There are 2000 registered female professional boxers, apparently. So it's not a minority sport? What a thicko

Huh?

[GiveItToTheShooters]

There are 2000 registered female professional boxers, apparently. So it's not a minority sport? What a thicko

It's irrelevant how many competitors there are.

[Milltown Row2]

There are 2000 registered female professional boxers, apparently. So it's not a minority sport? What a thicko

It's irrelevant how many competitors there are.

Ok, so for me Michelle Smith is the best Irish sports person Ireland has ever produced

[GiveItToTheShooters]

There are 2000 registered female professional boxers, apparently. So it's not a minority sport? What a thicko

It's irrelevant how many competitors there are.

Ok, so for me Michelle Smith is the best Irish sports person Ireland has ever produced

Ok.
Katie's achievements outweigh hers.

[screenexile]

Weird discussion. I think we can all agree she's a phenomenal athlete and a brilliant role model why can't we just leave it there?

[From the Bunker]

Weird discussion. I think we can all agree she's a phenomenal athlete and a brilliant role model why can't we just leave it there?

+1