Patrick Gerard Barnes (born 9 April 1987) is an Irish former
boxer who competed as an
amateur
An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, self-taught, user-generated, DIY, and hobbyist.
History
...
from 2005 to 2016 and as a
professional
A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and sk ...
from 2016 to 2019. As an amateur he competed in the
light-flyweight
Light flyweight, also known as junior flyweight or super strawweight, is a Weight class (boxing), weight class in boxing.
Professional boxing
The weight limit at light flyweight in professional boxing is 108 pounds (49 kilograms). When New York (s ...
division, representing Ireland at the
2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
,
2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...
, and
2016 Olympics
)
, nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams)
, athletes = 11,238
, events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines)
, opening = 5 August 2016
, closing = 21 August 2016
, opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer
, cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro ...
; winning bronze medals in
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...
and
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
, and represented Northern Ireland at the
2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
and
2014 Commonwealth Games
The 2014 Commonwealth Games ( gd, Geamannan a' Cho-fhlaitheis 2014), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014, ( sco, Glesca 2014 or Glesga 2014; gd, Glaschu 2014), was an international multi-sport ev ...
; winning a gold medal at both events.
As a professional, he challenged for the
WBC flyweight
Flyweight is a weight class in combat sports.
Boxing
Flyweight is a class in boxing which includes fighters weighing above 49 kg (108 lb) and up to 51 kg (112 lb).
Professional boxing
The flyweight division was the last of bo ...
title in 2018.
Early life
Barnes began boxing aged 11. He later joined the East Coast Boxing club. Barnes had an amateur record of 2-19 after his first 21 fights Aged 16, he joined Holy Family ABC in Belfast.
Amateur career
2007 , European Union Amateur Championships
In 2007, Barnes competed at the
EU Championships in Dublin. He had his medal hopes crushed however when he suffered an eye injury. With bleeding found behind his retina, Barnes was forced out of the competition.
2007 , World Amateur Championships
At the
World Championships
A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...
in Chicago Barnes missed out on a bronze medal after he was defeated by China's
Zou Shiming
Zou Shiming (; born 18 May 1981) is a Chinese former professional boxer who competed from 2013 to 2017 and held the WBO flyweight title from 2016 to 2017. As an amateur, Zou is China's most successful boxer of all time. In the light-flyweight div ...
in the quarter finals, Zou went on to win the
gold medal
A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture.
Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have be ...
.
However, Barnes qualified for the
2008 Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nati ...
by virtue of getting to the quarter finals.
*1st Round – defeated Choi Jon Chuk
North Korea
North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...
33–19
*Round of 32 – defeated Sadegh Zade Faraj
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
30–10 (RSCO)
*Round of 16 – defeated Kenji Ohkubo Japan 24–6
*Quarter final – lost to
Zou Shiming
Zou Shiming (; born 18 May 1981) is a Chinese former professional boxer who competed from 2013 to 2017 and held the WBO flyweight title from 2016 to 2017. As an amateur, Zou is China's most successful boxer of all time. In the light-flyweight div ...
China 8–22
2008 , European Union Amateur Championships
In 2008, Barnes returned to
EU Championships, this time in
Cetniewo, Poland.
Barnes made it to the final where he lost to Hungarian fighter
Pál Bedák. The silver medal was enough to secure his place at the Summer Olympics.
2008 , Olympic Games
Barnes won Ireland's inaugural medal, at the 2008 Summer Olympics, by winning his quarter final bout in the
light flyweight division. Barnes won a bronze medal after he was defeated in a second match with Shiming Zou in the semi-final, in a match where replays showed some of Barnes landed punches counted as points for Zou.
*Round of 32 – bye
*Round of 16 – defeated
José Luis Meza
José Luis Meza (born September 24, 1984 in Zamora-Chinchipe) is a boxer from Ecuador who qualified for the Olympics 2008 at light-flyweight.
Career
Meza is the youngest of 10 brothers.
In the qualifier he beat every opponent including the deco ...
14–8
*Quarter final – defeated
Łukasz Maszczyk 11–5
*Semi-final – lost to
Zou Shiming
Zou Shiming (; born 18 May 1981) is a Chinese former professional boxer who competed from 2013 to 2017 and held the WBO flyweight title from 2016 to 2017. As an amateur, Zou is China's most successful boxer of all time. In the light-flyweight div ...
0–15
2010 , European Amateur Championships
On 12 June 2010, Barnes won the gold medal in the light flyweight division at the
2010 European Amateur Boxing Championships
The Men's 2010 European Amateur Boxing Championships were held at the Megasport Sport Palace in Moscow, Russia from June 4 to June 13, 2010. It was the 38th edition of this biennial competition organised by the European governing body for amateu ...
. Barnes, a 4–1 winner over Azerbaijan's Elvin Mamishzade, was 1–0 up at the end of the first round, 3–1 ahead at the end of the second and sealed the victory with a final point in the third for 4–1.
2010 , Commonwealth Games
Barnes represented Northern Ireland at the
2010 Commonwealth Games
The 2010 Commonwealth Games (Hindi: 2010 राष्ट्रमण्डल खेल), officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Delhi 2010, was an international multi-sport event that was held in Delhi, India, ...
. He won the gold medal, defeating Namibia's Jafet Uutoni 8–4 in the final.
*Round of 16 – defeated Iain Butcher 4–2
*Quarter final – defeated Andrew Moloney 5–3
*Semi final – defeated Amandeep Singh 5–0
*Final – defeated Jafet Uutoni 8–4
2012 , Olympic Games
At the
2012 Summer Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, th ...
he defeated
Thomas Essomba from Cameroon 15–10 then beat India's
Devendro Singh in his quarter-final bout to guarantee himself at least another bronze medal. In doing so, he became the inaugural Irish boxer to win medals at two consecutive Summer Olympics.
For the semi-final, Barnes once again drew Chinese superstar
Zou Shiming
Zou Shiming (; born 18 May 1981) is a Chinese former professional boxer who competed from 2013 to 2017 and held the WBO flyweight title from 2016 to 2017. As an amateur, Zou is China's most successful boxer of all time. In the light-flyweight div ...
, who had defeated Barnes in the
2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
semi-finals before taking gold. Barnes gave a fearless performance against the three time World champion, with the judges tying them 15–15 on the scorecards, only for Barnes to lose via a 45–44 countback. Shiming once again went on to win gold.
*Round of 16 – defeated
Thomas Essomba 15–10
*Quarter final – defeated
Devendro Singh 23–18
*Semi-final – lost to
Zou Shiming
Zou Shiming (; born 18 May 1981) is a Chinese former professional boxer who competed from 2013 to 2017 and held the WBO flyweight title from 2016 to 2017. As an amateur, Zou is China's most successful boxer of all time. In the light-flyweight div ...
15–15 / 44–45 (CB)
2014 , Commonwealth Games
As captain of the Northern Ireland boxing team in 2014 at
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popu ...
, Barnes led the way by winning gold in the flyweight division defeating India's
Devendro Singh. It was the first time a Northern Irish boxer had successfully defended a Commonwealth title.
The
tournament
A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses:
# One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...
was held at the
. 17 boxers from 17 nations took part.
After the competition, Barnes accepted an honour, the
MBE, in the 2015 New Year Honours, for services to boxing and the community in Northern Ireland.
2015 , World Series of Boxing
Barnes competed in the
WSB for the 2014–2015 season. Along with
Michael Conlan, he was drafted by Italia Thunder. His first fight came against Magomed Ibiyev of the Baku Fires, in
Baku
Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world an ...
. Barnes won with a 49–46, 49–46, 50–44 unanimous decision.
His second fight was another win, this time over Anthony Ortiz as Italia Thunder met the Puerto Rico Hurricanes. The judges scored it 48–47, 49–46, 49–46 as Barnes took another unanimous decision win.
The Hussars of Poland were next up, in
Konin
Konin (german: Kunau) is a city in central Poland, on the Warta River. It is the capital of Konin County and is located within the Greater Poland Voivodeship. Prior to 1999, it was the capital of the Konin Voivodeship (1975–1998). In 2021 the p ...
. Barnes continued his perfect start to the season with a landslide 50–45, 50–43, 50–45 victory over Sebastien Jagodzinski.
His record for the season went to four wins with four unanimous decisions, when he defeated Kazakh fighter Temirtas Zhussupoy of the Astana Arlans in
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...
. His next fight was in
Maiquetia, with a split decision win over Caciques de Venezuela's Finol Rivas. The judges scored the bout 49–45, 49–45, 47–48 in favour of Barnes.
2016 , Olympic Games
Barnes was also chosen to be the bearer of the
Flag of Ireland
The national flag of Ireland ( ga, bratach na hÉireann), frequently referred to in Ireland as 'the tricolour' () and elsewhere as the Irish tricolour is a vertical tricolour of green (at the hoist), white and orange. The proportions of the ...
Tricolour at the 2016 Summer Olympics, something that Barnes considered an "incredible honour". At the
2016 Summer Olympics
)
, nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams)
, athletes = 11,238
, events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines)
, opening = 5 August 2016
, closing = 21 August 2016
, opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer
, cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro de ...
Barnes was defeated 2–1 by
Samuel Carmona in the round of 16.
Provincial and National Titles
Barnes lost the
Ulster
Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kin ...
title in 2005, 2006 and 2007. He faced Jimmy Moore from
Limerick
Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2 ...
in each of his national finals being runner up in 2006 but winning the
All-Ireland
All-Ireland (sometimes All-Island) refers to all of Ireland, as opposed to the separate jurisdictions of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. "All-Ireland" is most frequently used to refer to sporting teams or events for the entire islan ...
title in 2007 and 2008.
World Series of Boxing record
Professional career
Barnes vs. Slavchev
After his amateur success, Barnes turned professional and made his debut as a
bantamweight
Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In MMA, bantamweight is .
The name for the class is derived from bantam chickens. Bra ...
against Stefan Slavchev on 5 November 2016. Slavchev lifted Barnes into the air during the fourth round, so Barnes won the bout via disqualification.
Barnes vs. Rosales
On 18 August, 2018, Barnes challenged Cristofer Rosales for his WBC world flyweight title. Barnes got off to a fast start, but was introduced to Rosales' power early in the first round. In the fourth round, Rosales caught Barnes with a vicious right-hand uppercut to the solar plexus. Barnes fell on the canvas and wasn't anywhere close to beating the count, which meant a KO victory for Rosales.
Barnes vs. Harris
On 11 October, 2019, Barnes faced Jay Harris. Barnes was dropped by his oponnent both in round three and round four. The latter proved to be the final one, as Barnes was not able to beat the count, and Harris was awarded the KO victory.
Retirement
In November 2019, Barnes announced his retirement from professional boxing.
Professional boxing record
Marriage
Barnes and Mari Burns, parents of two daughters, wed in July 2017 at St Bernard's Roman Catholic Church, north Belfast.
Barnes is also an Irish Speaker, and received a Silver Fáinne in 2019.
References
External links
*
Irish Times interview: Barnes not pulling any punches 24 July 2012
Profile marypeterstrust.org; accessed 5 January 2018.
Paddy Barnes - Profile, News Archive & Current Rankingsa
Box.Live*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barnes, Paddy
1987 births
Living people
Boxers at the 2006 Commonwealth Games
Boxers at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Boxers at the 2010 Commonwealth Games
Boxers at the 2012 Summer Olympics
Boxers at the 2016 Summer Olympics
Male boxers from Northern Ireland
Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Northern Ireland
Light-flyweight boxers
Olympic boxers of Ireland
Olympic bronze medalists for Ireland
Olympic medalists in boxing
Boxers from Belfast
Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics
Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Boxers at the 2014 Commonwealth Games
Members of the Order of the British Empire
Commonwealth Games medallists in boxing