The 2023 Irish-Boxing.com Awards are underway and now is the time to celebrate the brains in the corner.
This award is named after the late great Paddy Hyland Snr and has been won by Dee Walsh the last two years running.
Absolutely all of Ireland’s coaches, both amateur and professional, deserve great recognition and credit.
There are honorable mentions for the likes of Packie Collins and Pete Taylor, who have a great roster of fighters, while Shaun Kelly and Ian Mahood have been involved in some big fights. Then there are the likes of Damien McKenna, who led Holy Family to four elite titles in ONE NIGHT and the senior medal factory built in Mullingar by Olympian Johnny Joyce.
We simply can’t nominate the dozens and dozens of coaches out there, and for the purposes of these awards, there are THREE cornerbacks this year that have stood out for us.
Other categories:Professional debut of the year
Votes are limited to one per IP address.
Zaur Antia, honored this year with the OFI President’s Award, the Georgian genius saw FIVE Irish wrestlers win medals at the European Games in Poland (and qualify for the Olympics in the process), with Aoife O’Rourke and Kellie Harrington getting the gold. It’s business as usual for the great man.
Andy LeeThe former world champion from Limerick has revitalized Jason Quigley, guided Paddy Donovan to the pinnacle of stardom and just days ago masterminded one of the biggest wins of the year for Joseph Parker over Deontay Wilder.
David WalshIt has been another undefeated year for the Belfast coach. In 2023, Conor Quinn moved up to title level alongside an Irish title for Colm Murphy and a Féile headliner win for Padraig McCrory, among others.
Cast your votes below:
QuizWiz
Voting will remain open until Saturday, January 6 and the results will be announced on Sunday, January 7.
Good luck to all the nominees!