Feb 14 2025 68 mins
Robbie Murray is a former undefeated professional boxer who defied the odds to achieve success in the ring. As a boy, he battled severe asthma and depended on the use of daily oxygen masks, and at that stage a future life as a sportsman seemed a million miles away. But boxing helped him build up his lung capacity and ultimately, he found success in the amateurs before turning pro in 2001, fighting out of Breen’s Gym in Belfast and representing Dublin. He trained and sparred alongside the likes of Neil Sinclair, Eamonn Magee and Paul McCloskey in an era when fellow 140lb boxers Shea Neary, Ricky Hatton and Francie Barrett, his old amateur rival, were making waves. His biggest night came in ’05 when he beat Peter McDonagh for the Irish title at the National Stadium – and bigger nights looked to be on the horizon. But he instead decided to hang up his gloves, his hunger satisfied, health intact, and pursue another legacy in the sport. Robbie became a full-time performance coach and took over his old amateur club, St Matthews in Ballyfermot. Coaching opened his eyes to the need for a fairer – and safer – system in underage boxing. He developed Fight Ireland in a bid to achieve proper matchmaking, knowing there are levels to the game, which he hopes will come back online soon. He then developed the Boxing Winner app, which provides a structured learning and development pathway for boxers of all levels. And The Rocky Road visited Murray in Ballyer to check out his newest venture which could end up changing the sport entirely – simulated boxing. Making boxing safer is something everyone wants but few know how that can be achieved. It is a brutal sport and those who enter it usually do so with their eyes wide open. Fights are fights, rounds are rounds, punishment is taken and dished out. It is the hurt game. Murray has recently completed a masters degree in sports performance analysis and time will tell if his research and methods are adapted to allow fighters worldwide to prepare in a safer way in future. This episode of The Rocky Road is dedicated to John Cooney, an Irish boxing warrior who tragically lost his life following a Celtic title fight at the Ulster Hall in February 2025.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.