Ireland’s World Elite Championships history

Irish boxing has claimed 21 medals at the World Elite Men’s and Women’s Championships.

The breakdown is 7 gold, 4 silver and 10 bronze since Munich 1982 where Tommy Corr finished in our first podium position.

Irish female boxing is by far the most prolific with six gold, silver and bronze secured since the inaugural World Women’s Elites in Scranton, USA in 2001.

Katie Taylor is responsible for five of those gold medals and bronze in a decade long dominance of the lightweight class which began in New Delhi in 2006.

Taylor won her first gold that year, twelve months after losing to North Korea’s Hang Hui in Russia in 2005 in her first World outing.

Taylor’s fellow Olympic champion Michael Carruth took home bronze from Moscow 1989.

Head coach Zaur Antia and Michael Conlan at 2015 Worlds in Qatar

Elsewhere, Kellie Harrington bagged gold and silver at light and light-welter and is Ireland’s only two-weight world medalist, although John Joe Nevin won successive bronze medals in the bantam limits of 54kg and 56kg in Milan and Baku in 2009 and 2011.

The Irish men’s side of 2015 finished 4th in the medals table in Doha, Ireland’s highest finish, courtesy of gold for Michael Conlan, silver for Joe Ward and bronze for Michael O’Reilly on the Persian Gulf.

Ward is a three-time World medalist. His bronze medal win in 2013 saw the Westmeath light-heavy become the first international boxer to win World Junior, World Youth and World Senior medals as a teenager.

Belfast bantamweight Conlan became the first Irish male boxer – he’s also the last – to claim World Elite gold in 2015 while Jason Quigley was the first Irish male boxer to reach a World Elite final in 2013 in Kazakhstan, the Donegal middleweight taking home silver from Central Asia.

Courtesy of Taylor and Harrington, the women’s lightweight division is by far Ireland’s most successful with six gold and bronze maintaining Ireland’s grip on the 60kg title.

The World Men’s Elites is a relatively young tournament, as opposed to boxing at the Olympics which began in 1904 and the European Elites in 1925.

Irish female lies in 8th position in the all-time World Elite medals table and Irish male boxing commands joint 23rd place with Poland since the inaugural World Elites in Havana in 1974.

IRELAND AT WORLD ELITE MEN’S AND WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIPS

1982 Munich, West Germany
71kg Tommy Corr Bronze

1989 Moscow Russia
64kg Michael Carruth Bronze

1993 Tampere, Finland
51kg Damaen Kelly Bronze

1997 Budapest, Hungary
81kg Stephen Kirk Bronze

2001 Belfast
69kg James Moore Bronze

2006 New Delhi, India
60kg Katie Taylor Gold

2008 Ningbo, China
60kg Katie Taylor Gold

2009 Milan, Italy
54kg John Joe Nevin Bronze

2012 Bridgetown,Barbados
60kg Katie Taylor Gold

2011 Baku, Azerbaijan
56kg John Joe Nevin Bronze

2012 Qinhuangdao, China
60kg Katie Taylor Gold

2013 Almaty, Kazakhstan
75kg Jason Quigley Silver
81kg Joe Ward Bronze

2014 Jeju Island, South Korea
60kg Katie Taylor Gold

2015 Doha, Qatar
56kg Michael Conlan Gold
81kg Joe Ward Silver
75kg Michael O’Reilly Bronze

2016 Almaty, Kazakhstan
64kg Kellie Harrington Silver
60kg Katie Taylor Bronze

2017 Hamburg, Germany
81kg Joe Ward Silver

2018 New Delhi, India
60kg Kellie Harrington Gold

Courtesy of IABA