Carruth's medal was Ireland's first ever gold medal in boxing, only a couple of hours after teammate Wayne McCullough had to settle for the silver in bantamweight. It was also the first Olympic gold medal for Ireland since Ronnie Delaney won the Men's 1500m event at the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne.
Within a few days of Carruth winning his Olympic medal the Government of Ireland announced that Carruth has been instantly promoted to sergeant within the Irish Army in recognition of his achievement at the Olympics. And, on the day of his return to Ireland, local pubs dropped the price of beer to that of 1956.[1]
Professional boxing
Carruth turned professional in 1994 after taking leave from his job as a soldier in the Irish Army. He was trained by the former Irish boxing great Steve Collins. He had limited success as a professional, losing in both of his defining professional bouts, in 1997 against Mihai Leu for the WBOWelterweight title and in 2000 against Adrian Stone for the IBOLight Middleweight title. He retired in 2000, after the loss to Stone, with a career professional record of 18-3-0.
1904: 135–145 lb (61.2–65.8 kg) · 1920–1936: 135–147 lb (61.2–66.7 kg) · 1948: 62–67 kg · 1952–2000: 63.5–67 kg · 2004–2012: 64–69 kg · 2016: 65–69 kg · 2020–2024: 64–69 kg · 2024–: 64–71 kg
