yiddo14 wrote:I would love to see the list of "Irish" "World Champions" that totals 17.
Me thinks some were born and bred in the USA(thus making your point about population irrelevant. If we take into account the amount of people around the world that call themselves Irish, then Ireland has a bigger population than Britian and probably half of Europe combined!)
And some have got to be mere strap holders to get the number that high.
When it comes to genuine World Champions that are genuinely from the countries in question then Ireland are way behind England, Wales and Scotland, especially in terms of quality.
Check out each countries respective pound for pound all time list, Ireland have not produced fighters in the same class as Wilde, Driscoll, Lynch, Buchanan, Kid Lewis, Calzaghe, Lewis, Hamed, etc. Not even close.
They have always been behind their cousins from across the Irish Sea, although I must say their amateur programme is starting to produce some quality fighters. Whatever they have done there is starting to work.
I couldn't find a definitive list of Irish world champions, Boxrec's listing are too unreliable, but here is a list of 14 Irish world champions who were born in Ireland (not USA as you make out) :
Johnny Caldwell - Belfast, N. Ireland
Steve Collins - Dublin, Ireland
Bernard Dunne - Dublin, Ireland
George Gardner - Co Clare on St Patricks Day which makes him Irish x 3!
Eamonn Loughran - Ballymena, N. Ireland
Jack McAuliffe - Cork, Ireland
Barry McGuigan - Clones, Ireland
Mike McTigue - Co Clare, Ireland
Rinty Monaghan - Belfast, N. Ireland
Dave Boy McCauley - Larne, N. Ireland
Wayne McCullough - Belfast, N. Ireland
Tom McCormack - Louth, Ireland
Jimmy McClarnin - Co Down, N. Ireland
Jack Dempsey - Co Kildare, Ireland
There are about 20 Irish American world champions listed as US world champions on Boxrec. Some of these are technically Irish and not Irish-American which would account for the 17 Irish champions someone mentioned earlier in the thread but with Boxrec's inacurracy with regards to Nationality, (for example: Boxrec has 8 boxers listed as Australian champions who are not from Australia, 10 boxers listed as French champions who are not from France, and 5 boxers listed as English champions who are not English!), it is hard to pinpoint which of the boxers listed are US born or Irish born).
As sligobhoy said, it is strange that you chose Hamed (Yemeni heritage), Lewis (Jamaican heritage), Calzaghe (Italian heritage), Kid Lewis (real name Gershon Mendeloff - dosen't sound very British to me), Benny Lynch (had Irish parents), and Jim Driscoll (had Irish parents), as your examples of British fighters who are, as you put it, in a different class to Irish boxers.
Whilst sticking to the pedantics that you apply to choosing which of the Irish world champions you recognise as being truly Irish, you can take Lloyd Honeyghan (born in Jamaica), Herbie Hide (born in Nigeria - real name Herbert Okechukwu Maduagwu), Charlie Magri (born in Tunisia) and Tom McCormack (born in Ireland), off your list of British world champions.