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

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

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

, who had defeated Barnes in the

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

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

Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre The SEC Centre (originally known as the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre until 2017) is Scotland's largest exhibition centre, locate ...

. 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 Rankings
a
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