Billy Walsh: Coaching against Irish boxers ‘the hardest thing I’ve ever done’

It was Walsh, now head coach with the USA, who brought Kurt Walker into the Irish high-performance system when the fighter was still only 17

Ireland’s Kurt Walker being consoled by USA coach Billy Walsh. Picture: INPHO/James Crombie

Billy Walsh never wanted to leave the Irish boxing programme. When he did, it made a day like yesterday inevitable but that didn’t make it any easier to stomach when he played a part in denying Kurt Walker an Olympic medal.

It was Walsh, now head coach with the USA, who brought Walker into the Irish high-performance system when the fighter was still only 17. And it was Walsh in the American corner when Duke Ragan won their featherweight bout and guaranteed himself an Olympic medal.