Good luck to the 26 men and women from the home nations boxing in Saturday’s Commonwealth Games semi-finals in Birmingham.
For some the weekend ahead and the chance to win gold will transform their careers. For me it was the best and most impactful amateur experience I had. Winning gold in Edmonton at 17 years old, one of the youngest ever to achieve that, launched my career.
It was a different era. All four of my fights were shown by the BBC on terrestrial TV. It brought me to the attention of the public. I was only a kid. I had won the Ulster juvenile title a year earlier then went straight in and won the Ulster seniors at 16. These days you have to be 18 to make the seniors.
All of a sudden I was mixing with the greats of track and field like Daley Thompson, Seb Coe and Steve Ovett.
I loved every minute of it in the village. I was already well known in Ireland but this gave me a huge profile, launching me into the mainstream of British sport.
The Birmingham games will feel just the same for these kids. For many it will be their first big, televised tournament. And the fact that the BBC is again broadcasting it is important in an age when amateur boxing gets less exposure than it did in my day.
It feels fabulous to win it because the standard is so high. Attention will inevitably fall on England’s super heavyweight Delicious Orie, and not just because he has a fabulous name.
Others to look out for include the Croft brothers from Wales, lightweight Amy Broadhurst from Northern Ireland and England’s Aaron Bowen at light heavy and middleweight Lewis Richardson
In Edmonton we had Mike McCallum from Jamaica, the great Body Snatcher, at welterweight, and the incomparable Azumah Nelson from Ghana, who won featherweight gold.
I thought McCallum was the best thing I’d ever seen. He beat my Ulster team-mate Kenny Beatty in the final. At least Kenny went the distance, which not many did.
Prince Phillip watched my winning bout in the bantamweight final. Years later I attended an event at the Palace for world champions across all sports.
Then Queen said, “Oh, you were in Edmonton.” I said yes, your husband was there. And she replied quick as a flash, “Excuse me, I was there too.”
It was an honour to meet the Queen and it was from the Commonwealth Games that she remembered me.
Happy days.
**Follow Barry on Twitter at @ClonesCyclone @McGuigans_Gym
