Pads with Francis Barrett

At the end of a session, Irish Olympian and legend, Francis Barrett, takes me on a pad session ... an honour... Francis Barrett had in excess of 250 bouts as an amateur fighter and represented Ireland internationally. He won Irish titles at both junior and senior level and also won the British welterweight title in 1997, beating Tony Sesay and Michael Jennings on his way to winning the title. The highlight of Barrett's came when he was the youngest member of the Irish team at the 1996 Olympic Games and carried the Irish flag during the opening ceremony. During the Olympics Barrett competed in the light welterweight division. For this he gained global media attention and became a national hero. The documentary, Southpaw: The Francis Barrett Story, won the Audience Prize at the 1999 New York Irish Film Festival. It followed Barrett for three years and showed him overcoming discrimination as he progressed up the amateur boxing ranks to eventually carry the Irish flag and box for Ireland at the age of 19 during the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.