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Home » The Greatest Irish and Northern Irish Boxers of All Time

The Greatest Irish and Northern Irish Boxers of All Time

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Ireland’s history is rich, so it’s no wonder that they have a rich history of producing world-class fighters as well.

There are many of them who are from Emerald Isle and who are going to become some of the biggest stars in boxing and realize their dream achievements and great careers.

Ireland has always been involved in boxing. Its fighters have always been at the top levels. Many have secured massive success in the ring over the past one hundred years.

There are a lot of established names of Irish descent in recent years that have reached the pinnacle of prizefighting.

Here are some of the greatest names to lace up a pair of gloves so far. 

Carl Frampton 

Carl Frampton is probably the number one fighter to ever come from Ireland. He was born in Belfast, and he has achieved incredible success ever since he showed up on the pro scene back in 2009.

Today, he is a two-weight world champion and is on a great path to becoming a third-division titleholder soon.

And even though he lost last year to Josh Warrington, this hasn’t derailed his hopes of becoming a world champion and he is making his way to an even more impressive career in 2019. 

Steve Collins

Collins is certainly another one of the most legendary fighters from Ireland. Even though he is now retired, this Dubliner is still widely recognized as the most successful Irish boxer in history.

He has reigned supreme during his career both at super-middleweight and middleweight by earning many huge victories.

Probably the most famous victory of his was against two British icons, Nigel Benn and Chris Eubank Snr.

Plus, he has never lost a world title in the ring which earns him the title of the best Irish fighters among many fans. 

Katie Taylor

Even though boxing has always been a predominantly male sport, Katie Taylor has set some great goals in the women’s category. Due to her emersion to the professional scene in recent years, she has managed to gather some momentum and popularity in the women’s sports.

She was born in Bray and her name has become a rather household name because she is single-handedly pushing the female sport to a much wider audience and she has earned the title of the best fighters of Ireland due to her efforts and victories.

What is more, she has won an Olympic Gold medal in 2012, and she has earned five World Championships, five European Union Championships and six European Championships.

That’s quite an outstanding amateur career, and since then she has also become a professional world champion in the lightweight division. 

Rinty Monaghan

John “Rinty” Monaghan has reigned during the times when there was only one champion per division. This has proven his superiority at the time and he was truly one remarkable fighter of his time.

He fought in the flyweight division. He has been immortalized in his home city of Belfast with a statue dedicated to his incredible career, skills, and efforts. 

These four fighters are only a small proof of how Ireland can “produce” great fighters. There are many others that have proven to be the greatest, while there will be more to come, undoubtedly.