“I am a risk, I know that” – Iago Barros calls for Irish return
Spanish road warrior Iago Barros is keen to box in Ireland again and isn’t going to allow a perceived injustice stop him.
Barros lost to Martin Quinn in his only previous visit to these shores and is keen on a rematch with the Crumlin fighter – or any other Irish boxer for that matter.
The Galician claims an injustice was served upon him in the National Stadium when the pair met on Celtic Clash 4.
Barros finished the wrong end of a 39-37 scorecard after an extremely entertaining clash way back in December of 2017. An all-out war, the rough and ready Spaniard was perhaps unlucky not to get at least a draw.
The notoriously game 36-year-old suggests not only do the Irish fight fans know he was the rightful winner, but won’t be satisfied until the pair settle the dispute once and for all in the ring.
Barros, who has scored a number of upsets from the away corner as well as having a verys successful kickboxing career, is not particularly get a repeat but has let it be known that he wants to box in Ireland again
There was rumour circulating this week that the La Coruna native was actively seeking the chance for revenge and Irish-Boxing.com got in contact with Barros earlier today.
The Spaniard was quick to clarify that ‘revenge’ is not on the agenda – as he feels he was the victor – and he suggests the popular Dubliner should the be the one looking to set the record straight.
Regardless, Barros is still open to the fight and claims it’s a scrap he knows the Irish public want to see.
“I don’t need to look for revenge against Quinn,” the Spanish fighter told Irish-Boxing.com.
“If anyone wants revenge it should be him. I would fight him again without any problem. Why? Because it’s money and it’s my job, not for revenge,” he adds before stating that they ‘must’ trade leather again to keep the public happy.
“I don’t care if I win or lose, but we must fight and make sure that the fans are satisfied. All the fans saw that [the result] was unfair.”
Barros may be trying to talk his way into a purse and a fight, but it’s one he thinks he can win – and he stresses he would like to make the former Crumlin amateur eat his words again.
“He was full of talk before [the first fight] saying in the Irish press that he was going to knock me out. Then since the bell rang the only thing he did was take shots.”
“Tell him I went up in [a weight] category to fight him and I said I was going to fight the same way.”
Quinn, with two all-Irish fights to his name already, isn’t one to turn down a challenge and if Barros continues to talk Boxing Ireland might see the value in a return – or indeed for any of the other lightweights in their stable.
The Spaniard would be known as a ‘journeyman’, but not one to be taken lightly. Indeed, his performance against Quinn probably made him a member of the ‘who needs him?’.
The fighter himself doesn’t dwell on that fact and remains hopeful Boxing Ireland would make what he believes would be the error of bringing to Ireland again.
While his record may read an unattractive 5(2)-15(2)-2, he holds a win over former touted Swiss amateur Julien Calvete as well as a recent defeat of Portugese prospect Diogo Reis. Regularly one to lose narrowly on the cards, the veteran is a hard night’s work.
Barros is keen to box in Ireland again, where he was warmly received last time out, but ntoed that “the truth is that this is a matter for promoters and managers.”
“I am a risk I know that, but I am a fighter. I only dedicate myself to fight. The strategies of the managers and promoters remain for them.”
Photo Credit: Ricardo Guglielminotti – The Fighting Irish (@ThefIrish)
