Belfast light flyweight Paddy Barnes probably has one of the largest trophy cabinets in Irish sport. The charismatic Holy Family GG boxer has 7 National Elite Senior titles, 2 Olympic bronze medals, 2 Commonwealth gold medals, silver and gold European medals, and a European Union silver medal.

However, one medal has eluded him. That is the World Championships, and Barnes will be unable to put this right in Doha this October, as he can not qualify due to a combination of WSB commitments and injury. With Barnes looking likely to turn pro after the Rio Olympics, he will probably never get a chance to add this medal to his collection.

On the other hand, Barnes’s partner in crime, Mick Conlan, does have the opportunity to win a World medal. Conlan makes an assault on European gold and World Championships qualification when he participates in the European Championships in Bulgaria over the next two weeks.

Chatting to irish-boxing.com, Barnes joked that “even though Mick is one of my best mates, I don’t want him to win the Europeans and qualify for the World Championships, because, if he does, he’ll get the World medal which is something I haven’t got!”