Boxing Thread

[Louther]

That's a serious accusation! 

Especially when they seem to be doing it for free.

[yellowcard]

The sport of boxing in Ireland is fcuked. Conlan for example was one of the brightest prospects in world boxing never mind in Ireland but unfortunately he will always be associated with MTK and for that reason he will never get the support of the Irish public that his talents deserve. At one stage he could have hoped to become a peoples champion after calling out corruption on live TV during the Rio Olympics. However, dangle a financial carrot in front of some of these boxers and all of a sudden they are inside a world that they will find it almost impossible to back out of. I do wonder if deep down they have some regrets, in some cases it is difficult to fault the individual boxers for taking the money but anyone from Ireland would need to be living under a stone not to be aware of the implications. The silence from the boxing community (both fighters and the media) in Ireland in recent days tells you a lot.

[GetOverTheBar]

You don't get a lot of money in Boxing, relatively speaking in sports....

Hard to turn down that massive chunk of cash ready to be lodged in the bank with no questions asked because you are a professional athlete.

[Milltown Row2]

You don't get a lot of money in Boxing, relatively speaking in sports....

Hard to turn down that massive chunk of cash ready to be lodged in the bank with no questions asked because you are a professional athlete.

The only real money for boxing is Middle weight and Heavy weight, the other weights find it difficult to hit the big time

[Geoff Tipps]

The sport of boxing in Ireland is fcuked. Conlan for example was one of the brightest prospects in world boxing never mind in Ireland but unfortunately he will always be associated with MTK and for that reason he will never get the support of the Irish public that his talents deserve. At one stage he could have hoped to become a peoples champion after calling out corruption on live TV during the Rio Olympics. However, dangle a financial carrot in front of some of these boxers and all of a sudden they are inside a world that they will find it almost impossible to back out of. I do wonder if deep down they have some regrets, in some cases it is difficult to fault the individual boxers for taking the money but anyone from Ireland would need to be living under a stone not to be aware of the implications. The silence from the boxing community (both fighters and the media) in Ireland in recent days tells you a lot.

Conlan's brother is one of the top execs in MTK.

[trailer]

Do boxing fans actually care about Kinahan? Would a fair few not be customers of his anyway?

[yellowcard]

The sport of boxing in Ireland is fcuked. Conlan for example was one of the brightest prospects in world boxing never mind in Ireland but unfortunately he will always be associated with MTK and for that reason he will never get the support of the Irish public that his talents deserve. At one stage he could have hoped to become a peoples champion after calling out corruption on live TV during the Rio Olympics. However, dangle a financial carrot in front of some of these boxers and all of a sudden they are inside a world that they will find it almost impossible to back out of. I do wonder if deep down they have some regrets, in some cases it is difficult to fault the individual boxers for taking the money but anyone from Ireland would need to be living under a stone not to be aware of the implications. The silence from the boxing community (both fighters and the media) in Ireland in recent days tells you a lot.

Conlan's brother is one of the top execs in MTK.

Yes, there is absolutely no question that Conlan wasn't aware of what he was getting into. It begs the question as to whether anyone in Irish boxing is looking out for the best welfare of these boxers, many of whom are coming from difficult backgrounds. Or is it simply a race to the bottom. Most of them simply take the cash which ultimately buys their loyalty when really all they are is pawns in a game of sports washing. Unfortunately I don't think this will end well for them.   

[nrico2006]

Conlans progress has been pretty slow to be honest.  I know he is in line for a shot at Fulton next, but on the whole he seems to have been managed pretty poorly and is getting on a bit when you look at the prime ages of boxers in the lower weight classes.  Its been nearly 5 years since his last amateur fight and you only have to look at the progress some other Rio fighters have made in the pro ranks in the same time.

[gallsman]

Conlan has never been "one of the brightest prospects in world boxing". Being an amateur world champion doesn't automatically confer that status on you. His pro career has been underwhelming from the very beginning.

Look at the trajectories and start power of the likes of Lopez, Davis and Ryan Garcia at lightweight, all of whom are years younger than him, or someone like Shakur Stevenson at Conlan's weight. Conlan's nowhere near their level.

[Taylor]

I've often thought about this, even for the club I support.

Do the City players care about the owners alleged human rights digressions or are they just happy to lift the ££££.

Similar to the boxers I suppose however because this is closer to home it has more attention

[GetOverTheBar]

I've often thought about this, even for the club I support.

Do the City players care about the owners alleged human rights digressions or are they just happy to lift the ££££.

Similar to the boxers I suppose however because this is closer to home it has more attention

Playing devils advocate somewhat, why should they care I suppose? What business is it of Sergio Aguero or Kevin De Bruyne what happens in a country they probably couldn't even point out to you where it was on the map? They are footballers, not politicians I suppose.

Boxing is a tough, lonely sport. I can see how some of those guys get seduced by the money. Like I said, Boxing has always been dirty and it's a short, potentially life threatening career path.....why would you not fill your boots if you aren't doing anything overly "bad"?

I'm not saying I agree with it, but if someone gives you 500k in cash to put in your bank and you give them back 400k once its in....that's 100k for walking it through the door. A boxer wouldn't care about that.

I'm surprised Frampton moved to MTK, he always seemed like a decent fella to me in interviews and I even met him briefly once in the days before the Kiko Martinez fight. I just genuinely think it's easy enough for Boxers to justify their actions (in their minds) because of the nature of their sport.

[Taylor]

I've often thought about this, even for the club I support.

Do the City players care about the owners alleged human rights digressions or are they just happy to lift the ££££.

Similar to the boxers I suppose however because this is closer to home it has more attention

Playing devils advocate somewhat, why should they care I suppose? What business is it of Sergio Aguero or Kevin De Bruyne what happens in a country they probably couldn't even point out to you where it was on the map? They are footballers, not politicians I suppose.

Boxing is a tough, lonely sport. I can see how some of those guys get seduced by the money. Like I said, Boxing has always been dirty and it's a short, potentially life threatening career path.....why would you not fill your boots if you aren't doing anything overly "bad"?

I'm not saying I agree with it, but if someone gives you 500k in cash to put in your bank and you give them back 400k once its in....that's 100k for walking it through the door. A boxer wouldn't care about that.

I'm surprised Frampton moved to MTK, he always seemed like a decent fella to me in interviews and I even met him briefly once in the days before the Kiko Martinez fight. I just genuinely think it's easy enough for Boxers to justify their actions (in their minds) because of the nature of their sport.

Agree on the Frampton part - surprised he went although who knows how what his finances were like before he got the ruling in the McGuigan case.

Point I am making is that it is easy to take pot shots at boxers for going with MTK - as you say short & dangerous careers so they need to make as much as they can and get out.

Anyway it isnt the boxers that are causing the issues.

On your point about Aguero & KDB not being politicians - boxers arent the law so why should they care about what Kinahan does?

How many other sportspeople are involved with clubs/management companies/countries etc who would be involved in illegal activities?

[GetOverTheBar]

What Kinahan does is of no relevance really to them, to be honest.

It's not their problem, they are sportsmen and women. The more tuned in probably know deep down what they are doing is helping sports washing, some of the rest, Billy Joe and the likes probably just think Kinahan loves them for their talent, or that he saved them in some way, some maybe just don't care and love the money.

Anybody in professional sports is somewhat detached from reality, look at the amount of premier league players have been caught drink driving, or Covid Breaches and the likes. Money to them solves a lot of their problems....it shouldn't be the way of it, but it is.

[Taylor]

Agree with all of that.

Strange that boxers seem to be getting some of the flak rather than the root of the problem

[Baile Brigín 2]

Agree with all of that.

Strange that boxers seem to be getting some of the flak rather than the root of the problem

They are getting an unprecedentedly good deal. No management fees and only a cut if they make it at the top. That is, literally, too good to be true.

The analogy with football fails. The owners are vetted and clubs finances are audited. We can discuss what they vet for, bit comparisons between Arab princes and cartels are fatuous