Irish Boxing

You are probably correct. Carl was born in Ireland, won Irish titles and probably boxed more times for Ireland than Macklin or Lee. I think the wily Barry missed out big time on marketing the extremely likable Frampton in the Republic. Incredible to see the profile of McGregor compared to a genuine world title belt holder.

 

I appreciate what you are saying about Barry being much more used to the media, and let's face it not many boxers are as great talkers as Barry anyway!
But the impression I get from Carl is that he just isn't pushed about the Southern Irish audience. Or hasn't shown it much anyway, if he is.
Not just in that case on the Late Late show appearance, but in general.
He never talks about the South, thanks his fans down there, or really mentions the south and southern fans at all.
Belfast is the centre of his universe and that's about it. He just seems to have a very insular view, that's all I can say.
Which is a pity for him cos he has now outgrown the Northern arenas and could do well in bigger arenas down south if he was a bit more popular than he is down here.

 

Agree Carl is likeable Matt - but he needs to spread it around a little!
Stop hiding his light under a bush as they say. Raise his profile a little, particularly down here in the South.

Also agree about McGregor. Baffling innit?
But fair play to him, he is a master self-publicist and in todays media-driven and hype-fuelled world where people are literaly "famous for being famous", he has capitalised fully. Fair play to him. Carl could learn a thing or two from him.

I dont know the first thing about the type of fighting McGregor does but he DOES seem to be very fit and motivated and well-conditioned. It might be a joke business, I dont know, but he is very serious about it!

How would he get on against a boxer of similar weight?

 

carl is treading a careful path... he knows the mindset of the unionist from his area... to start talking talking in a 32 county context would not go down well with them...similarly he very rarely talks in a northern ireland context as that would be a turn off for the nationalists/republicans in the north... so he finds common ground in talking about belfast... no one can get offended about a boxer being proud of his home city and simply talking in that context but that wont stop fans from coming from dublin, derry..ballymena wherever to cheer him on ... read between the lines lencoreastside:good

 

Appreciate that, Fra. I know he has to tread carefully. Coming from Tigers Bay carries with it certain implications. It's not like coming from, day, Crumlin in Dublin, I know.
It's what I meant about him having an insular view.
But surely an occasional non-political "thank you" to his southern fans wouldn't get him into too much trouble with the locals in Tigers Bay?

Barry was operating in much more volatile and dangerous times, and he managed to achieve crossover appeal without offending anyone.

 

did barry not fite live on bbc and rte.. barry cross over appeal wood have been automatic:good

 

It was not quite that simple, Fra.
It was a bit like what Dolly Parton means when she says :
" it costs me a fortune to look this cheap!"

Barry had to tread VERY carefully and work very hard to achieve his "effortless" crossover appeal.
Eg. His da singing Danny Boy ( not nat anthems)
Eg his slogan " leave the fighting to McGuigan"
Eg flying then international peace flag with the dove on it etc etc
And of course the " barry factor".. His genuine charm and likeability.


But of course fighters then were much more active than today, and seen much more frequently by fans on free TV. Beats me how boxing attracts ANY new fans today. It's a disaster.

 

ive often heard mcguigan called "barry the brit" by older republicans... maybe he didnt tread that carefully:good

 

McGregor is the real deal, he has great fighting style and he is a great personality, Irish boxing could do with someone like him imo as he the hype and interest he has generated in the UFC in this country is unreal, one of McGregors best MMA traits is his boxing he has serious power and is a quality boxer dosent waste much at all, I think he could do well as a pro boxer.

I think he is good for Irish boxing aswel as American and UK promoters will be looking at McGregor and thinking "I want a peice of this" and will be looking at up and coming Irish boxers who might be able to replicate what McGregor is doin in pro boxing.

 

Ive heard Carl talk about the island of Ireland in the context of fans before.

 

Would Lukekiko perhaps be able to shed any information on what McGregor was like as a boxer? They would have both been training in Crumlin BC around the same time no?

 

Completely agree. Boxing needs a lad who appears in the gossip pages and the news pages like McGregor does. ( for the right reasons mind )

Any chance of some sort of " compromise rules" match between him and Carl?

Remember when the GAA made a fortune out of that kinda stuff with the Aussie Rules crowd.

Fantasy freak show, maybe? But There wouldn't be a stadium big enough...

 

Conor didn box much he done it for a couple of years as a teenager had a handful of competitive fights,but spars out in Celtic warrior with ormand,spike etc..... There's a clip of him and pajo having a little move around boxing sparring!

 

I cannot, no matter how much I try, bring myself to find McGregor "likeable".

 

One thing Frampton is lacking is a real domestic Irish rival. Lee and Macklin benefit from each other...every time one guy's name gets mentioned, the other does too.