Boxing is rawer than almost any other sport in the world—athletes step in the ring with nothing but grit, determination, and gloves, ready to prove their skill and that their stamina will last through the fight. It’s considered the most demanding sport according to ESPN’s expert team—placing fourth for “nerve” (after auto racing, rodeo, and ski jumping) and first for durability among the skills of athleticism. Although all sports greats demonstrate discipline and passion, boxing demands the ability to push through fatigue, pain, and mental blocks to an extremely high degree. 

The sport, like football, has widespread global appeal, but Ireland always comes up in conversation among the countries with the deepest connection to boxing. Although Ireland is only as big as the American state of South Carolina, its contributions and reputation in the sport are rich. Similar to what The Cranberries did for music and BonusFinder Ireland (for the best online slots site Ireland) is trying to do for online casinos, the country has produced some of the world’s top-tier boxers.

From retired veterans to up-and-coming stars, we’ll go over a few Irish boxers who rose to global fame.

Jack Doyle

Where better to start than the early, no-frills days of boxing, when boxers wore high-waisted trunks and minimal protective gear? One of these original fighters was Jack “the Gorgeous Gael” Doyle, a boxing prodigy during his time who was a major contender for the British Boxing Heavyweight Championship. His story is a contentious and almost movie-like one marked by incredible natural talent, hard work, a hiatus, and a sticky end to his career due to alcoholism. 

Born into a working-class family, Doyle knew what hard work looked like at a very young age. During his youth, he came across the book How to Box by Jack Dempsey, a heavyweight boxing champion, whose name he also adopted. He was eventually discovered by a boxing promoter while part of the Irish Guards regiment of the British Army because of his 28 straight victories and strong hooks. After turning pro, he continued his glowing record and racked up 10 consecutive victories. Doyle also had stints in wrestling, acting, and music and finished his boxing career in a controversial manner. 

Barry McGuigan

Barry McGuigan is the founder and current president of the Professional Boxing Association. But before he took on the responsibility of boxing administration, he held the nickname of the Clones Cyclone in the ring. His busy, whirlwind fighting style and origins from the small town of Clones in County Monaghan naturally fit the name. McGuigan garnered many accolades, holding several WBA, British, and European featherweight titles in the Eighties.

The start of his boxing career was much like any other star in the sport—he won several consecutive fights, many by knockout, but one event truly tested him. His fight against Young Ali was another victory, but Ali fell into a coma and passed away. This tragedy profoundly impacted McGuigan, leaving him to question his career as a boxer. Against all odds, he explored boxing outside Europe and continued boxing for seven more years.

Katie Taylor

Female boxers typically don’t get as much love as male boxers, as is true in other sports. But overlook Katie Taylor, and she might just shatter another record. Although she’s considered one of the current stars in the women’s boxing scene, her career spans decades, fighting (and winning) in the first officially sanctioned female boxing match in Ireland at just 15 years old. From there, she tallied up one noteworthy success after another. 

Taylor qualified for the first Summer Olympics, where women’s boxing was included, and competed in countless AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships, among other high-profile events. With a total of 18 gold medals of international status and only one loss against Chantelle Cameron, Katie Taylor has undoubtedly solidified her name as a future Hall of Famer. Katie wasn’t going down without a literal fight either, as she fought Cameron just six months later and won the victory.

Carl Frampton

With a nickname like “Brick Fists,” there’s no doubt that Carl Frampton had a presence in the ring. He was the first boxer from Northern Ireland to hold world titles in two weight classes—the WBA and IBF super bantamweight titles and the WBA featherweight title. One of his most glowing initial wins was against Ukrainian boxer Yuri Voronin, prompting The Belfast Telegraph to call him a reincarnation of Barry McGuigan, his former manager. After showing so much promise locally, Frampton stated that he was ready for a world title fight and wanted to represent Belfast as a hometown hero.

He recognized that boxing was a unifying force during the city’s troubled history, and this bolstered Frampton’s desire to become a legend in Irish sport. He wanted to create a legacy and bring big fights to Belfast, and that’s exactly what he did. Carl went on a 23-fight winning streak, with only three losses in the last five years of his illustrious career.

Michael Conlan

It seems like Belfast’s tougher streets have a way of producing fighters, as emerging star Michael Conlan is another brilliant example of Ireland’s winning spirit. Conlan has only been fighting professionally since 2017, with an initial 16-fight winning streak that included opponents such as Jason Cunningham and Vladimir Nikitin. He proved himself time and time again, putting on entertaining shows with his outspoken nature and plenty of knockdowns. 

His first loss happened five years into his career against Leigh Wood—the current WBA featherweight title champion. He dominated the earlier rounds of the fight until a knockdown in the 11th round and a knockout in the 12th that rendered him unconscious. Coming back from his first loss, he won his next two fights in style, by unanimous decision and technical knockout, a true testament to his tenacity.