Kenneth Egan's retirement last night might have come as something of a surprise for some people. But the Dublin light-heavyweight had spoken to Ger on Newstalk Sport last weekend and had given an indication that he may have been thinking of calling it a day, even though he was looking forward to his fight with Joe Ward. He had touched on the idea of retirement during the interview:
"After my career in boxing, when I call it a day, I'll definitely stay in boxing because it's all I know as I've been learning about it since the age of seven. And I'm still learning about boxing both coaching-wise and boxing-wise. But there were times when I was 15 or 16 that I wanted to retire - even at 18 or 19 - it's that kind of sport. It's like a love affair. But I'd walk away for a couple of weeks and get that hunger again. I'll get this senior final out of the way then make my decision," he had said.
Egan ultimately lost out to Ward last night at the National Stadium.
The Clondalkin boxer won 10 titles during his career including two National titles in 2005 and 2007. But it is his silver medal at the Beijing Olympics that turned him into a national hero...
©INPHO/Lorraine O'Sullivan
Egan's Beijing journey got off to a fine start when he routed Julius Jackson of the Virigin Islands by 20 points before a 10 - 2 victory over Turkey's Bahram Muzaffer (above) propelled him into the quarter-finals.
©INPHO/Lorraine O'Sullivan
Brazil's Washington Silva stood between him and a place in the last-4 but in an excellent defensive display Egan won by a score of 8 - 0.
©INPHO/Lorraine O'Sullivan
Already guaranteed at least a bronze medal, Egan needed to beat British opposition in Tony Jeffrey's in order to have a shot at gold. And he did not disappoint, winning 10 - 3 to set up a final with China's Xiaoping Zhang.
©INPHO/Morgan Treacy
With Irish eyes on events in Beijing, Egan put up a sterling performance against his Chinese opponent but ultimately fell short by 11 points to 7.
However there was some controversy as judges failed to award several punches landed by Egan that would have given him a lead in the penultimate round. But no matter, Egan returned home a hero.
You can download the Kenneth Egan interview via our podcast on iTunes.
