IABA President Pat Ryan tells Irish fighters – “You just have to take the decisions”
IABA President Pat Ryan has urged all Irish boxers to keep any protests private and accept any controversial decisions they may be handed in the coming years.
Judging has become a hot topic in Irish boxing circles recently, especially in the wake of Michael Conlan‘s shocking loss to Vladimir Nikitin in the Olympic bantamweight quarter finals.
Conlan lashed out at the AIBA following the loss, but there is a school of thought which suggests that such outbursts may provoke the sport’s governing body and leave Ireland more vulnerable to further dubious decisions.
Since then their have been further contested decisions, ranging from the close to the seemingly clear, with Brett McGinty, Christina Desmond, Kelly Harrington, Paddy Donovan and more losing out, with varying levels of protest – as well as countless cases at the National Stadium with losing parties disagreeing with the outcome.
Ryan stressed that behaviour, regardless of the manner of result, is essential, and told Irish-Boxing.com that “it’s very very important for us going forward that our behaviour and conduct is in a sporting manner, because you’re going to lose a lot more than you’ll win in this life.”
“We can talk about decisions until the cows come home, and we’ve been talking about decisions since boxing began. There’s tight decisions, but I think it’s important how we take those decisions.”
“You just have to take the decisions.”
Ryan pointed to Katie Taylor‘s refusal to question the decision in her Olympic lightweight quarter final loss to Mira Potkonen – a fight many feel she won, including 1992 Olympic gold medalist Michael Carruth who was extremely vocal on the issue – as the lead for Irish boxers to take, rather than the Conlan’s approach.
Portlaoise’s Ryan outlined how “Katie Taylor I think was a wonderful example of [accepting a controversial decision] when you’re in the depths of despair. In fairness to Michael [Conlan], it was one of those isolated incidents in his career. A remarkable talent as well.”
