Kevin Barry gained a silver medal in the light-heavyweight division at the Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 1984 after his semi-final opponent, future heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield, was disqualified. Referee Gligorije Novičić of Yugoslavia disqualified Holyfield for continuing to fight after he had called break. Barry had been knocked down and because of that, he was not allowed to contest the final against Ante Josipović of Yugoslavia. Barry took up coaching in 1990 and had a long association with an Olympic bronze medallist from Barcelona, David Tua, including an unsuccessful world heavyweight challenge against Lennox Lewis of Great Britain. The two parted in 2003. Barry married Tania Moss, a member of the New Zealand gymnastics team in Los Angeles in 1984.