Ireland may have blown their best chance of medals at Rio 2016

Ireland's greatest ever boxing coach is off to the USA.

Billy Walsh is set to take up a coaching role with United States boxing team after a wrangle of his salary. Walsh, who has led Ireland to unprecedented success in recent Olympics and European Championships, has been given a wage increase but, according the Irish Independent, that may not have been his main motivation to jump ship. A deal had been agreed by the Irish Sports Council to tie Walsh up, long-term, but the Irish Amateur Boxing Association did not ratify it. Independent journalist Vincent Hogan explains:  

The Irish Sports Council believed that a package had been agreed with the Irish Amateur Boxing Association last weekend to keep Walsh at home and that that package would be brought for ratification to Tuesday night's IABA board meeting. This did not happen, however, after the association indicated via email on Tuesday that they had changed their stance on virtually every detail of the package.

With less than a year to go to Rio 2016, this is the last thing we needed to hear.