EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
KO: You have been very successful as a boxer,
winning an Olympic Silver Medal in Beijing
2008, 10 Senior National Titles and numerous
International Medals, inspiring lots of young
boxers. Do you feel you could inspire young
boxers as a coach?
Kenny Egan brought us, the boxing fans
some very memorable moments
throughout his amateur career, winning
ten Senior Titles, numerous
International Titles, but most notably his
Silver Medal at the 2008 Beijing
Olympics. On 22nd of February 2013, the
curtain came down on his illustrious
career.
Ken: That’s another good question. A lot of good
amateurs don’t necessarily go on to be good
coaches, so that’s a bit of a challenge in itself, but
it’s a challenge I’m definitely up for. I’ve been
around top coaches for the last 22 years and I’ve
seen how they operate, especially the likes of Billy
Walsh and Zaur Anita on the High Performance
Programme and also my own coaches here, Gerry
Fleming, Hughie Smith and the rest of the lads, so
I’ve a good idea what’s involved and needed to
becom e a top coach. At the moment I’m taking part
in a Pursuit of Excellence Programme which is
going on over in the Sports Institute. It involves
various different coaches from various sports who
come together to perform different tasks. My task at
the moment is basically how to get a first time
athlete to the Olympic Games under the coaching
of a first time coach. I have obviously plenty of
experience as an athlete but I’m learning from all
the other coaches there and it’s going very well for
me at the moment.
KO Monthly caught up with the Dubliner down at
Neilstown Boxing Club, the place where it all began
for the Irish legend, to discuss his career, life after
boxing and that emotional standing ovation.
KO: You have dedicated your life to boxing so
far, so how do you plan to spend your days now
you have retired?
Ken: That’s a good question, well I’ll still be training
it’s not as if I’ve stopped boxing altogether. I’ll be
training here at the club three times a week if I can,
and do a bit with the kids. I want to do my best to
put a bit back into the sport from a training point of
view. Just because I’ve retired it doesn’t mean I’ll
be sitting at home 24/7 twiddling my thumbs. I’ll be
definitely training in some shape or form.
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