Olympic Boxing Coming to Forefront Soon

There are plenty of boxing matches still firmly on the Summer schedule for fans and already penned into their calendars – but there will be plenty of boxing lovers out there who are eagerly anticipating the upcoming Paris-held 2024 Olympic Games.

There are usually plenty of well-known names and faces on show for those who pay far more attention to the amateur ranks. One of the delights of the Olympics is seeing the more complete unknowns impress during the tournaments and put themselves into the boxing limelight.

Looking Ahead to Olympic Boxing

Pan Am Games Will Be Intriguing

For fight fans, the Paris Games will continue to provide a plethora of options and there will be countless betting bonuses and odds available across all types of disciplines. And, there is no reason to doubt the event will again be massive for the UK sporting market and more grassroots clubs will be hoping that they see renewed interest in watching fans tempted to have a go themselves.

For now, though, we still have the final rounds of Paris qualification tournaments.  We will then find out which of those fighters take the next step and move into the more professional circuits of the sport.

Aiden Walsh returned to the ring in March for the first time in the last 14 months after deciding to take a break. But, he was beaten in the second bout of the first world qualification tournament out in Milan, Italy. He now has one final chance and opportunity to book his place for Ireland in his second Olympic Games, and he will be hoping to do just that alongside his sister, Michaela.

Former Prominent Medalists

The delayed Tokyo Olympics boxing (held in 2021) saw fighters like the USA’s Keyshawn Davis (Lightweight Silver), Cuba’s Andy Cruz (Lightweight Gold) and Uzbekistani Bakhodir Jalolov (Super Heavyweight Gold) attain this type of status.

Back to this Spring and Summer. The second Olympic World Qualifier will take place in Bangkok, Thailand, and runs from May 21 to June 2, and it has now been confirmed – that Walsh will lead the seven-strong Northern Ireland team in their bid to compete in Paris in their set disciplines.

Joining Walsh in the team are European Games athletes Daina Moorehouse (50kg), Jennifer Lehane (54kg), Grainne Walsh (66kg), Sean Mari (51kg) and Kelyn Cassidy (80kg). They will be joined by superheavy Martin McDonagh, who has already gained three Irish titles at Under 22, Senior and Elite levels in ten months back in 2023.

Six Team Ireland boxers have already qualified for Paris, and they are reigning Olympic lightweight champion Kellie Harrington, the aforementioned Michaela Walsh, and fellow Tokyo Olympian Aoife O’Rourke. Jude Gallagher booked his ticket to Paris at the first Olympic World Qualifier, with Dean Clancy and heavyweight Jack Marley qualifying at the 2023 European Games.

Plenty of Drama Remains

Four places are available at Paris in five of the weight levels that Northern Ireland is contesting, and in the 71kg light middleweight class that Walsh is contesting, five spots are on the line for the French capital – with a further three at the 80kg class.

The Ireland team will finalise their preparations at the multi-national training camp in Hua Hin, Thailand – but there will certainly be some upsets given we will again see more than 600 boxers compete in Bangkok.

Boxing fans will keep a keen eye on the events that kick off later this month. But there are plenty of other bouts that will keep people entertained during the build-up to the Paris Games.