HE has helped mastermind some of the country’s greatest moments between the ropes – but renowned coach Zaur Antia admits he will have to consider his options should Ireland choose to remain outside the Olympic movement.
Saturday sees members of the Irish Athletic Boxing Association (IABA) vote on whether to join World Boxing, after it was officially recognised as the sport’s world governing body by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
That brought to an end fears around boxing’s Olympic future, having been left off the initial list for the Los Angeles Games in 2028. For Ireland, though, the picture remains unclear.
Still solely aligned with the International Boxing Association (IBA), and no longer a member of the Olympic Federation of Ireland, a vote against joining World Boxing could have huge ramifications.
And among them could be the loss of a coach who has long been coveted by other nations, having helped transform the country’s fortunes in the ring since moving to Ireland in 2004.
Alongside Billy Walsh, Georgian Antia oversaw a golden generation of talent that included the likes of Katie Taylor, Kenneth Egan, Darren Sutherland, Paddy Barnes and Michael Conlan, before Kellie Harrington went on to land back-to-back gold medals at the last two Olympic Games.
He insists his intention is to be in Los Angeles with Ireland – but Saturday’s vote could have a bearing on whether or not that is the case.
“We are very much focused what we’re doing – we have nearly 50 boxers connected here.
“We see how they love boxing, how they love the Olympic Games. And when an Olympic champion comes here as well, their eyes are happy. They are here because they are thinking for the future of the Olympics.
“Every child who comes into boxing, they think about become Olympic champion. This is very important. Ireland is a very big traditional boxing country, and I think there will be a positive solution. If not, I don’t know. I can’t say.
“I have now, at the moment, I have three places [interested in acquiring his services] as well. I don’t know, I will see what happens.”
Throughout over two decades’ involvement, Ireland have had many successes at Olympic, World and European level, but the 2016 Rio Games – where widespread evidence of “corruption, bribery and the manipulation of sporting results” was subsequently uncovered in the McLaren report – was a line in the sand moment for the sport, Antia feels.
“Rio always we remember – like a snake bite,” he says with a rueful smile.
“Katie Taylor, Michael Conlan… not only did they perform enough to raise their hands. That’s where AIBA’s [former name of IBA] problems started. Since then, they let go about 20 referee/judges… what we’re looking for is more honesty, less possibility for corruption. That’s what we want.
“According to this experience, everyone should think about how to make things better. I hope it will be better… the experience we have, it has to change. Many things should change. Can you imagine the only sport where there is no appeal?
“There should be more transparency, everything should be done correctly. According to all those experiences, they have to learn.”
Due to Ireland’s continuing alignment with IBA, preparation for Paris 2024 was made more difficult as the squad ran the risk of incurring sanctions should they train alongside nations who were solely involved with World Boxing.
As more countries move to the new body, it leaves a more shallow pool for Ireland in terms of both preparation and competition. This, Antia says, goes against the foundation blocks of the country’s boxing progress in recent decades.
“It is very important who you are working with; we have to work with the strong nations. To become the best, you have to train with the best.
“We still have a good network at the moment, and this will continue when we stay strong. They only want you when you are strong, so we need to choose our right direction to continue development.
“Since this started – World Boxing/IBA – we had many problems. We cannot go there, we cannot go another side. Many times we changed things; it’s become like a market.
“This is the key for success, for development. Coaches, boxers, all experienced with the best teams, you can go for training camps, they can come here – your hands are open, not closed.
“You always need to update yourself; what worked last time will not work next time. You have to improve. If you want to continue success, you need to improve. If you stay behind, they will pass you.
“It’s very important to join [World Boxing], I think.”
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