April Test Issue 2 April-May 2013 | Page 7

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW KO: You were given an incredible send off at the National Senior Finals, were you expecting that type of ovation by the boxing fans? They say the second Title is the hardest, but the third to the tenth were easy, it was the eleventh I tripped up on (Egan jokes). So the Olympic Silver and my first National Senior Title were definitely the highs of my career. The lowest was being beaten in 2011 when I was going for my eleventh title. I was so used to being a winner as I hadn’t been beaten in this country since 1998 after winning titles at all levels, not just my Senior Titles. So getting beaten by Joe Ward gave me a kick up the ass! That was definitely the lowest. Ken: Well, there’s maybe two handfuls of people who have come to the Stadium to support me in the National Finals going all the way back to when I won my first title in 2001, so it was sweet to have the same people there in 2013. They, along with my coaches and family, have been with me right throughout my journey to here and now. I wasn’t expecting the standing ovation I got. I had made my mind up in early January that I was going to retire. No one knew about it, not my family, or even my coaches. I’d had a long road and I had achieved everything I had set out to do, so the time was definitely right and I don’t regret retiring at all. The ovation was amazing especially seeing the kids there, some of who weren’t even born when I won my first Senior Title, so it was good to know I had given some joy to the Irish people over the years. It’s something to win 10 Senior Titles but it’s also very special to reach 13 Senior Finals. KO: In regards to boxing, do you have any regrets in regards to your career? Ken: Regrets in boxing!!! I don’t really have any regrets, no. It was a great privilege to put on the Irish vest and be an ambassador for Ireland. I’ve travelled the world representing my country and bringing home medals to Ireland. KO: You were part of the High Performance Programme since it began, do you feel that there could be improvements made within the programme? KO: You have reached the highs of boxing and you have seen the lows of the game. What is your best memory from your career and what was your lowest? Ken: I was there before the high performance started. We used to be brought in at the weekends to train for International tournaments, then for the World Championships in 2001 in Belfast, we were brought to Limerick for a four week training camp so there was no full time coaching or anything put in place till 2003. Gary Keegan who was the director of boxing at the time had a vision of what he wanted and I have to say what an amazing vision, he put the high Ken: Well the obvious one would be the Olympic Silver medal. It was an amazing two weeks for me, everything went perfect, even the training camp out in Russia prior to the Games. I was high in confidence and was boxing brilliantly, so that’s the obvious choice. But to win my first senior title was also very special, more so because I was the underdog going into the fight and I was only 19 years of age. 7 MONTHLY