Kellie Harrington stoic about Irish boycott of World Championships

LAUNCH: Spar ambassador and Olympic gold medallist Kellie Harrington at today’s launch of the €60,000 SPAR 60th Community Fund. Pic: Naoise Culhane Photography

Kellie Harrington is philosophical about missing the chance for a massive pay-day at the recent World Boxing Championships.

“Because I've been there and done it (Worlds) I didn't feel that hard done by to miss out, even though there was a lot of money on the line,” said the reigning Olympic lightweight champion.

“It would be nice to have that in the back pocket of course but, for other people who could have had the chance, I did feel sorry for them.

“I suppose there was a reasoning behind why it all happened and hopefully it's for the better,” she said of Irish boxing’s decision to boycott the event which finished in India last Sunday.

There was no prize money on offer when Harrington won her world title in 2018 but the International Boxing Assocation (IBA) introduced huge prizemoney in 2021, thanks to a sponsorship deal with Gazprom, the gas company partly owned by Russia which is currently subjected to sanctions due to the war in Ukraine.

Amy Broadhurst and Aoife O’Rourke both got $100,000 for winning gold last year and $50k and $25k respectively are also awarded to silver and bronze medallists.

But Ireland, along with major boxing powers like USA, Canada, Britain and Ukraine boycotted the event due to allegations of corruption in the IBA as well as its decision to allow boxers from Russia and Belarus to compete under their national flags.

“There’s no assurance that had I been out at that tournament that I would have got any money at all,” Harrington said.

“Shit happens. I could have had a bad day. I’ve seen it before with Katie (Taylor) and others. People automatically put a gold medal on them but that’s not the way it is.

“I tend to like being realistic with myself. I know I’ve a target on my back, I’m there to be beaten and people are hungry.” 

Brazil’s Beatrix Ferreira, whom she defeated in the 2020 Olympic final, retained the world lightweight title even though she has since turned pro.

Harrington does have a major issue with this anomaly, saying: “I don’t think professional boxers should be allowed in the amateur scene and I’ll stand by that forever. It should be one or the other.” 

Bernard Dunne, who became the latest High Performance Director (HPD) to resign from Irish boxing last year, is now HPD for India who won four medals at Worlds but Harrington would not be drawn on the effects of his loss here.

“It’s all good in the hood. We have our great coaches in the High Performance (training unit) and they're doing the job.

"I'm happy with how my preparation is going for the (Olympic) qualifiers (in Poland in June) and I personally do not think whether we went to the Worlds or didn't that it interferes with our preparation,” she insisted.

Harrington had Italy’s Rebecca Nicoli, whom she beat in the opening round at the Olympics, in Dublin recently for a week’s sparring.

Asked if she would take part, if invited, in an exhibition fight on the undercard of Katie Taylor’s long-awaited first Irish fight as a professional in Dublin on May 20 she said: “Absolutely! I’d never thought of it until it was mentioned here but I’d bite the hand off someone to fight down the road from my gaff - but only as an amateur,” she stressed.

Harrington was speaking at the launch of Spar’s €60,000 Community Fund which will award six clubs or community groups €10,000 each for local initiatives, an area that is particularly close to her heart as someone who admits she might have taken a very different path in life were it not for the opportunities provided to her by community sport.