It’s ten years since Jason Quigley became the first Irishman to reach the final of the World Championships In a breakout 2013, he won his first Irish Elite title, followed up with European senior gold and then reached the decider of the Worlds in Russia, going down to Zhanibek Alimkhanuly of Kazakhstan. It was to be his last amateur contest. Since then he’s operated as a professional boxer, graced some of the finest venues in the world, rubbed shoulders with legends and fought for the world title in 2021. Quigley has a few more strings to his bow as well, carving out a niche as a media commentator in the sport and recently, making moves into fighter management and promotion. It’s been 13 years since professional boxing was staged in Donegal but on November 18, Quigley and his partners at Elite Sheer are bringing it back. His old amateur team-mate Joe Ward will headline the event and here, Jason talks about sparring sessions with ‘Mighty Joe’, identifying with Oscar De La Hoya’s well-publicised troubles, separating the man from the boxer, his last outing against Edgar Berlanga and a future in the sport – inside and outside the ropes.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is the second part of our interview with Eamon Carr as he launches his book 'Showbusiness with Blood'.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Eamon Carr is the special guest for this week's episode as he joins Kevin Byrne to talk about his new book: Showbusiness with Blood. Carr reflects on his early career in journalism as he covered a golden age in Irish boxing.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Limerick's Graham McCormack joins Kevin Byrne for this week's episode to reflect on his life and career so far as he gears up for his next fight.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dylan Moran hails from Waterford but started his pro career in Manchester, the city he will return to on September 2 for his biggest fight to date. Now preparing to take on Albania’s Florian Marku at the Manchester Arena, on a Sky Sports BOXXER show headlined by Liam Smith v Chris Eubank Jr’s rematch, it’s the culmination of years’ worth of work. Here, Dylan talks about leaving school early to work in a meat factory, how amateur boxing broke his heart, finding his feet in kickboxing, living in the gym when he went pro (not a figure of speech), fighting all over the world from Mexico to Mayo, meeting his heroes, the devastation of his first loss, being plucked for sparring with Conor McGregor, facing the media glare when targeted by Jake Paul, getting back on track after Covid, finally getting his homecoming – and preparing for the fight of his life alongside new coach, Jimmy Payne. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Some fellas are afraid of nothing, and some fellas are afraid of getting a clatter. And some fellas are not afraid until they get a clatter! Then they realise.” We’re back with Part 2 of If Walls Could Talk, a special double episode of The Rocky Road with Philip Sutcliffe from Crumlin Boxing Club. Plug the imagination back in and let Sucko guide you around one of Ireland’s most successful schools of sport. There are stories about Crumlin fighters like Dean Byrne and Jamie Kavanagh, and a few about Katie Taylor who regularly dropped in for sparring down through the years. Philip tells us about his two Olympic Games as a young boxer, Moscow 1980 and Los Angeles 1984 (with a mix-up about his admittedly elegant green team blazer thrown in) and telling The Greates, Muhammad Ali, where to go – in true Dublin fashion – when the heavyweight icon called him a ‘leprechaun’ and asked him to sit on his lap. Conor McGregor, perhaps Crumlin’s most famous pupil, looms large over the building and you can hear Sutcliffe’s pride when speaking about his achievements in the Octagon and even in the ring. It’s not all about the superstar names though, and Philip is most animated when speaking about the boxing family, or when boxing breaks your heart when talented young fighters go down the wrong road towards crime and drugs. Luckily, more are saved than are lost, a source of obvious pride for the boxing people of Ireland. Finally, Crumlin BC has been a leader in the rolling-out of the High Five Boxing Academy for those with additional needs and, as ever, Sutcliffe is centrally involved, encouraging and cajoling and bringing out the best in people. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Terry O’Neill is a former Irish international boxer turned actor and comedian. During his years in the fight game, the Dubliner won national titles and represented his country across Europe, winning Four Nations gold. His current show, Rope A Dope, is an international hit, featuring twice at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. It’s based on his years in the sport and some of the comic elements he came across during his time in the ring. As he says, mental things have gone on over the years, so why not give them a run in the sun? It’s joke heavy but it’s also about the loss of a dream. Terry dreamt about becoming a professional champion like his idol, Rocky Marciano, but has new ambitions these days in showbusiness. Here, he talks about fighting on the fringes of the high performance revolution in Irish boxing and how emotions often got the better of him around his biggest fights, for better or worse. He discusses his new way of channelling that energy, through performance, the joys of being typecast as a ‘Dublin scumbag’ and his ambition to follow classmate and fellow boxer Barry Keoghan all the way to Hollywood one day. It’s a frank and open discussion, and Terry kills – especially when he talks about landing one of his biggest roles. He also takes the Boxing Movie Quote challenge with hilarious results. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Big Joe Egan joins the podcast this week to tell his story and he’s well and truly travelled The Rocky Road to contentment. Raised in Ringsend, Dublin, he took up boxing after being bullied as a kid and never looked back. His first fight was against future world champ Steve Collins and he went on to become multiple-times Irish heavyweight champ, which brought him into the orbit of Floyd Patterson, Cus D’Amato and a young Mike Tyson. He became Tyson’s sparring partner in the Catskills, surviving savage rounds where others couldn’t and even earning the moniker, ‘The Toughest White Man on the Planet’ from the man who couldn’t knock him down, try as he might. The pair became lifetime friends and Tyson even fought some of his early professional bouts in Joe’s Ireland shorts, which he’d absconded with during a trip to the USA. Here, Joe delves into his amateur career and nights at the National Stadium, the support he got from his family, his anger at not being selected for Seoul 88 and helping to make an elderly Lugs Brannigan walk tall after a chance encounter in town. Joe also talks about his own pro career, the crash that effectively finished him, and life after boxing which saw him shot twice during an attack on his pub which featured from machetes, hatchets and shotguns, releasing his life story, after-dinner speaking and featuring in the movies. It’s a hell of a tale. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kevin Byrne is joined by Pierce O'Leary, Gary 'Spike' O'Sullivan and Dee Walsh to look ahead to the eagerly anticipated showdown between Errol Spence and Terence Crawford for the unified welterweight title.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We’ve something different this week as we kick off a new feature called ‘If Walls Could Talk’. On one of my visits to the boxing gym it struck me that I’d love to hear the stories behind the pictures and headlines that are stuck on the wall. It applies to most gyms in the country, so where better to start than in the capital’s Crumlin boxing club with the storyteller that is Phil Sutcliffe. They’re all here, from novices to world champions, volunteers to Olympic gold medallists. We discuss family and fighters, those still punching and those who are no longer with us. Some of the fighters have gone down the wrong road over the years, gotten involved in gangs, while others are soldiers, prison officers and Gardai. Many are massive names in their own separate fields – such as Daniel Day Lewis, who trained here to prepare for The Boxer in the 90s, or MMA’s Conor McGregor who grew up fighting out of the place and is still a frequent visitor. ‘So many names’, says Phil, who says he’d ‘only take a bullet for Madonna if she paid me enough’! This is Part 1 of If Walls Could Talk, from Crumlin Boxing Club.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.