what happen to francis barrett??

[gladiatorcoach]

just saw the movie south paw. very interesting. how did he do at the 2000 trials and why did he stop fighting pro so young? whats he doing now?
check our boxing gym on face book at gladiator gym

[bennie]

He busted up a lot in his fights and the cuts forced him out of the game. He made it to the 2000 Olympics.

[Broc]

Frank was a dynamite amateur, I remember him in Dublin at the National finals each year from 14yea of age up. He used to arrive with no coach, as chick Gillan (his coach) used to never go to the stadium to do his corner, he would ask some other coach to do his corner and then go on to level the opposition. He was a little tank and he basically walked through most lads he faced. Beat Frankie O' Brien, Mairtín ó Mainín, Jason Mckay (didnt deserve that decision though), Patrick Walsh from St Colmans in Cork and many more, I think he beat Ricky Hatton in one of Hattons last amateur fights too, it was a fight held somewhere in Ulster.

He won his first fight in the olympics by a huge scoreline, lost his second fight there and went pro about a year later.

He started off well and lost a controversial decision to Ted Bami in one of his early fights. Barrett has always been a nice fella.

His real downfall in the pros was that he never altered his amateur style and carried it into the pro ring. He was always fit and hit well, but never sat on his punches like a pro should, therefore never advanced as far as he should have.

Last I heard he was getting involved in promoting and still helps his cousin Coley Barrett in his pro career.

[kevinmalpas]

my perception is a little different, francie was indeed a decent amateur and i saw a number of his amateur fights, although not a heavy hitter he worked the system well enough to rack up points. He turned pro with mick hennessey, was doing relatively well but was always a powder puff puncher, in the pro game there are not many fella who progress too far without being able to pull the equalizer from their locker when they are in the trenches (what about sven ottke i hear you say). Francie had ring savvy, decent punch output, but poor velocity in his shots. as stated he did not set himself well for big shots, he did not dig his feet in. his pro record was buttered up a bit fighting stiff. he laboured to a points decision to alan bosworth at the tail end of 2004 for the over inflated ebu title, boxed relatively well to beat the decent hitting gavin down in his fight previous to the bosworth one. all in all cuts hampered francies career, he had a decent chin but was an average pro. he did have an awfully big head, surely this makes you easier to hit and more prone to head clashes?

[ApolloCreed]

Wonder why his head was so big?
Where would he rank in traveller boxer terms?

I remember RTE beaming live from his caravan when he fought in Olympics (wasn't it 96 bennie, not 2000? could be wrong).

[bennie]

Wonder why his head was so big?
Where would he rank in traveller boxer terms?

I remember RTE beaming live from his caravan when he fought in Olympics (wasn't it 96 bennie, not 2000? could be wrong).

Yeah, it was 1996. He led out the Irish Team. He was strong but lacked snap in his shots.

[Deno1986]

Francie fought in the '96 Olympics in Atlanta, lost to an African who went on to win a medal.

[JamesH]

Heard rumours from his time around Neasden that he was getting quite severe head aches... don't know how much substance there is in the rumours but they were quite prevalent around the local pubs whenever his name came up.

[hurlock]

finally found a bird??? DD

[gobbles]

Apparently his kid is a fantastic talent. Boxes in NW London, only very young

[ApolloCreed]

When RTE interviewed his mother at her caravan, the interviewer (nearly sure it was Marty Morrissey) said something to his mother like "have you ever been on the wrong side of Francie's temper?"... Shocking. Any of the Irish posters remember it?
His coach Chick Gillen used to get a lot of grief, got called a "knacker lover" etc.
Think he was a barber in Galway city.
Galway's full of travellers.

[Bleak]

brilliant documentary, is the Trojan Club around still,

what became of Luigi?

[Londonirish]

brilliant documentary, is the Trojan Club around still,

what became of Luigi?

Haven't heard that name for a while and Big Phil Precin, he had some great story's lol..

[DAVE2005]

He boxed my brother in the Aba quarter finals.He beat are kid that night and was a cracking fighter.
Never quite made it as a pro.shame really

[Deno1986]

Hard to believe it's over 20 years since he led the Irish team out. Still remember it clearly.

This is the most recent article on the web about Francie. It's from last year and is a good read.

http://www.the42.ie/francie-barrett-int ... 2-Jul2016/