Jack Marley (born 16 November 2002) is an Irish

amateur boxer 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 ...

who won a gold medal at

heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Male boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 2 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation an ...

at the 2022 European Under-22 Championships and silver at the

2023 European Games The 3rd European Games (), also known as the 2023 European Games or Kraków-Małopolska 2023, was an international multi-sport event held from 21 June to 2 July 2023 in Kraków and Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Małopolska, Poland. It was the first ...

. He represented Ireland at the

2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

Career

Having started boxing aged 8 at Monkstown Boxing Club in Dublin, Marley was 11 when he claimed his first Irish age-group title and was still just 18 when he won a bronze medal in the

division at the 2021 European Under-22 Championships in

Roseto degli Abruzzi Roseto degli Abruzzi (), more commonly Roseto, is a town and ''comune'' of the province of Teramo in the Abruzzo region of central Italy. It is a beach resort on the Adriatic Sea and has about 24,000 inhabitants. Geographically, Roseto is positio ...

, Italy. He was invited to join the Irish Amateur Boxing Association elite training group in May 2021, before winning his first national elite title in October 2021, beating Marcin Skalski by unanimous decision and becoming the second youngest-ever champion in the heavyweight category. Marley took gold at the next European under-22s held in

Poreč Poreč (; known also by several alternative names) is a town and municipality on the western coast of the Istrian peninsula, in Istria County, west Croatia. Its major landmark is the 6th-century Euphrasian Basilica, which was designated a UN ...

, Croatia, in March 2022, defeating Italy's Roberto Lizzi via unanimous decision in the final. In May 2022, he made his senior international debut at the

European Amateur Boxing Championships The European Amateur Boxing Championships is the highest competition for boxing amateurs in Europe, organised by the continent's governing body EUBC, which stands for the '' European Boxing Confederation''. The first edition of the tournament t ...

in Armenia but lost in his opening fight against Greece's Vagkan Nanitzanian when an accidental clash of heads in round two caused a cut above Marley's eye leading to an early stoppage and a defeat on points. Marley won a silver medal at the

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

, Poland, losing to Aziz Abbes Mouhiidine from Italy in the final but securing his place at the

in the process. The result made him the first Irish heavyweight medalist at a major championships since Gearóid Ó Colmáin won the European title in 1947. He also became the first heavyweight from his country to reach an

Olympics The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a variety of competit ...

since Cathal O'Grady in 1996. Following a public vote, Marley was named the 2023 Irish Boxing Amateur Boxer of the Year. In February 2024, Marley won a bronze medal at the prestigious Strandja Memorial Tournament in

Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...

, Bulgaria. Two months later, at the 2024 European Amateur Boxing Championships in

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

, Serbia, he went out in the first round, losing via split decision to Belgian fighter Victor Schelstraete. Marley's Olympic place was officially confirmed when Ireland named their boxing team on 28 June 2024. He was drawn to fight Mateusz Bereznicki from Poland in his first contest, which he won by 4:1 split decision. Marley lost in the quarter-finals via a 4:1 split decision to

2022 Asian Games The 2022 Asian Games (), officially the 19th Asian Games () and also known as Hangzhou 2022 ( zh, c=, s=杭州2022, labels=no), were a continental multi-sport event which was held from 23 September to 8 October 2023 in Hangzhou, China. The ...

gold medalist Davlat Boltaev of Tajikistan.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Marley, Jack Living people 2002 births Irish male boxers Heavyweight boxers Boxers at the 2024 Summer Olympics Olympic boxers for Ireland Boxers at the 2023 European Games European Games silver medalists for Ireland European Games medalists in boxing 21st-century Irish sportsmen