An 11-strong squad will represent Team Ireland in Foz do Iguacu, Brazil this week for stage one of the 2026 World Boxing Cup.
The competition, which begins on Monday and runs through to Sunday, takes place across three tournaments this year, with China hosting the next leg in June before it culminates with the finals in Uzbekistan at the end of the year.
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Boxing Ireland – formerly the Irish Athletic Boxing Association – officially cut ties with the International Boxing Association in October 2025 after voting to join World Boxing in May, so this week represents the first major competition Ireland will compete in under the banner of the fledgling Olympic-approved organisation.
With the Commonwealth Games and September’s European Championships also in the diary for 2026, it is set to be a busy year and ranking points in Brazil may prove beneficial for the Irish team comprised of Olympians and rising stars.
“We know how important these competitions are with seeding points off the back of these, so it’s important we attend, but we want to challenge ourselves against the best in the world and this is an opportunity to do that,” said interim head coach Damian Kennedy.
“The squad is good, it’s growing in confidence and in ability, so it’s exciting times and we’re in a really good place.”
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Walsh re-energised thanks to brother Aidan
Of Ireland’s 10 boxers who qualified for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, Aidan Walsh is the only one who is no longer competing, but older sister Michaela shows no signs of slowing down with a silver medal at March’s Strandja Tournament in Bulgaria.
The 32-year-old Belfast featherweight has confirmed her desire to qualify for a third-straight Olympic Games and while her younger sibling’s career inside the ropes may be at an end, he remains an influence after completing a Masters in sports psychology.
“I spend a lot of time with the high performance coaches, but I have been doing a lot of work with Aidan at home,” Walsh said.
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“I hadn’t been on an international podium for two years, but Aidan’s always had the belief in me which has brought that joy in boxing out of me again.
“In the Irish Elites, I felt like I was performing at a world-class level and then brought that into Strandja, so to come away with a silver medal was amazing and now I just want to keep performing at the level and if I do, I can be on the podium a lot more.”
Building experience crucial for Gallagher
Jude Gallagher burst on to the scene with featherweight gold at the 2022 Commonwealth Games which was a prelude to Olympic qualification.
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Still just 24 years old, the County Tyrone native has amassed plenty of top-level experience but knows there is more to go.
Like Walsh, the Newtownstewart man has his sights set on the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles and while claiming a medal this week would be a bonus, there is also the bigger picture of next year’s World Championships in Kazakhstan.
“Every tournament you want to go and win, but even looking back at my last couple of years as a senior boxer, you realise how much better you are now compared to when you started when you thought you’d clean up everywhere,” said Gallagher, who will box at lightweight.
“Experience is massive. The more time in the ring and more competitions you go to, you learn so much.
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“The main goal for all of us is Los Angeles, but in these tournaments this year, while you want to get to the top of the podium, it’s about gathering experience and getting ready to go strong next year.”
Belfast’s new wave seek to make their mark
Belfast pair Jon McConnell and Louis Rooney represent some of the fresh faces who are seeking to establish themselves in Brazil.
McConnell claimed the Irish Elite title in January and after an opening win at the Strandja Tournament, fell to Kazakhstan’s Mukhamedsabyr Bazarbayuly but in defeat “learnt more from that fight than anything over the past two years”.
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The 23-year-old is the latest off the Holy Trinity production line and having suffered his share of disappointments in the past, feels he is ready to make his mark on the international stage.
“I had a lot of bad luck but made the jump up to qualify for the last Olympics when I wasn’t a 70 kilo boxer at all, but still mixing it with the best in the country,” he said.
“We’re all bouncing out of our skin coming up to Brazil and I’m expecting to win – that’s the mindset.”
Rooney, although three years younger, is on a similar trajectory with the flyweight from Star ABC in north Belfast already enjoying success on the international stage with gold at the 2024 European U-23 Championships and is hungry for more.
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“I’d a bit of a downer at Strandja compared to last year when I came back with a [bronze] medal, but I want to push on in Brazil,” he said.
“I feel like when I perform and I’m making the weight right, I’m world class and can beat anyone.”
Team Ireland squad
50kg: Louis Rooney, Star BC, Belfast
51kg: Daina Moorehouse, Enniskerry Boxing Club, Wicklow
54kg: Jenny Lehane, DCU Boxing Club, Dublin
55kg: Patsy Joyce, Olympic BC, Mullingar
57kg: Michaela Walsh, Holy Family GG Boxing Club, Belfast
60kg: Jude Gallagher, Two Castles OBA, Tyrone
65kg: Dean Clancy, Sean McDermott Boxing Club, Leitrim
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70kg: Evelyn Igharo, Clann Naofa Boxing Club, Louth
70kg: Jon McConnell, Holy Trinity Boxing Club, Belfast
80kg: Josh Olaniyan, Jobstown Boxing Club, Dublin
90kg: Jack Marley, Monkstown Boxing Club, Dublin