Kevin Barry (boxer)

Kevin Michael Joseph Barry (born 10 October, 1959 in Christchurch) is a noted New Zealand former boxer, boxing trainer, manager and occasional commentator.

Amateur career

Barry first rose to prominence in the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles as a contestant in the Light Heavyweight division. He won through to the semi-final, where he faced future four-time world heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield.

In a controversial decision, referee Gligorije Novicic of Yugoslavia disqualified a clearly dominant Holyfield for repeatedly hitting on the break. While Novicic yelled break during a Holyfield flurry of combinations, Barry went down.

As a result Barry was awarded the silver medal, although he was not permitted to contest the gold medal bout against Yugoslav Anton Josipovic since he had been technically knocked out. After the games Barry was offered a large sum to fight Holyfield, but declined.

Barry also won a bronze medal at the 1982 Brisbane Commonwealth Games in the Light Heavyweight division.

Olympic Results

*Defeated Don Smith (Trinidad and Tobago) 5-0
*Defeated Jonathan Kiriisa (Uganda) 3-2
*Defeated Jean-Paul Nanga (Cameroon) 4-1
*Defeated Evander Holyfield (United States) DQ 2
*Lost to Anton Josipovic (Yugoslavia) walk-over

Professional career

Barry turned professional in 1988. He now remains active in boxing as a trainer and manager. This Kevin Barry is not to be confused with the Australian heavyweight of the same name.

Training career

Barry remained involved in boxing and became a trainer. After New Zealand Heavyweight David Tua won bronze at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Barry helped persuade him to turn professional, managing Tua from 1992-2003 and acting as his trainer from 2001-3.

Under Barry's management Tua became a contender, unsuccessfully challenging heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis in 2000. Barry and Tua parted ways in 2003, and the boxer has been involved in legal disputes with Barry and management partner Martin Pugh (the first court decision was in Barry and Pugh's favour, though David scored a court victory over one of three key issues). In addition Barry has a number of up and coming New Zealand boxers under his guidance.

Barry is married to former New Zealand Olympic gymnast Tanya Moss. Kevin has four children, three of whom are with Tanya and reside with him in Las Vegas, Nevada (Jordy, 15, and twins Taylor and Mitchell, 13.) He has also been a frequent commentator on New Zealand boxing broadcasts, and is a prominent member of the New Zealand boxing community.