World and European medallists Michael O’Reilly and Dean Walsh were set to be cut from the Irish Elite senior squad before receiving a reprieve but their futures are not certain, Irish head coach Zaur Antia has revealed.
O’Reilly and Walsh were sent home from an Olympic qualifier in Turkey last April due to disciplinary issues, but the pair are part of a 12-man squad taking part in a training camp in Baku ahead of the final ‘amateur’ Olympic qualifier in the Azerbaijan capital, which starts on Tuesday week.
Ireland already has six male boxers qualified for Rio but four more could book their places through this month’s qualifier.
World medallist O’Reilly and European medallist Walsh are both aiming to take part in the tournament at their respective weight classes of 75kg and 64kg, but the pair are not guaranteed their places as they face competition from Mayo’s Ray Moylette and Newry’s Connor Wallace.
While form is sure to play a major part in who makes the final cut, Antia and his fellow coaches John Conlan and Eddie Bolger will also be assessing Walsh and O’Reilly’s attitude as the pair may yet be cut from the squad.
“I respect them, but I hate their behaviour. I was ready to remove them [from the team] because they deserved it,” said Antia before explaining his change of heart.
“They came and they apologised and apologised in front of the team and they have families as well... I’m not Hitler!
"But when I see them and look at their eyes, I will identify who they are. Are they a different O’Reilly and Walsh or the same?
“They came and they apologised and apologised in front of the team and they have families as well... I’m not Hitler!"
“I don’t want any distractions or someone who isn’t a team worker and doesn’t care about his friends, his team, his own country and only cares about himself. I don’t want such people.
“We are all human and we have to forgive. We have to help them grow and understand what is good and bad,” added Antia ahead of the 10 June deadline for team selection.
Both O’Reilly and Walsh were sent home from the Olympic qualifier last April after unspecified acts of indiscipline.
The pair were also due to be fined €5,000 each by the Irish Athletic Boxing Association (IABA), but it is understood that their punishment was decreased to reimbursing the IABA for their travel costs.
“An apology should be honest. I will see how they behave, how they are, if they are team workers,” explained Antia.
“I don’t want to say what happened, what happened was bad. They were not focused. They lost their fights because they did not perform as they should.
"They made mistakes and were not very serious despite warnings.
“In my report I said I wanted to remove them from the team… That’s what I was thinking but they came and apologised in front of the coaches and the boxers,” added the coach.
Box-offs to decide who would compete in Baku at middleweight (75kg) and light-welterweight (64kg) had been mooted but Antia and his fellow coaches will instead make the final call.
Former Irish lightweight champion Seán McComb was rumoured to be up for consideration at 64kg but it is believed that either Walsh or Moylette will take the slot.
Darren O’Neill (91kg) and Dean Gardiner (91+kg) will make up the four-man team set to compete in Baku.
