Team Ireland set for World Boxing Cup in Brazil

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. 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.

" Walsh takes on welfare role at Boxing Ireland 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.

"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.