Adam Nolan announces retirement
Wexford welterweight Adam Nolan has retired from boxing aged 29.
The five-time National Senior Elite champion and London 2012 Olympian announced his decision this morning that he is to step away from the sport and will not be entering the Senior Elite Championships next month.
The Bray BC southpaw stormed to Olympic qualification back in 2012, winning the European Boxing Olympic Qualification Tournament in Trabzon, Turkey, and would then go on to reach the last 16 in London, defeating Ecuadorian Carlos Sanchez before losing to bronze medalist Andrey Zamkovoy of Russia.
Since then he has been a fixture on the Irish team, participating at the World Championships in 2013 and 2015, the European Championships in 2013 and 2015, and the European Games in 2015.
The Garda intends to continue his sporting career with local hurling club Oulart the Ballagh, with whom he won a Wexford Senior Hurling Championship medal last year, and also hopes to help out at Ballagh Boxing Club in the future.
Nolan said “I’ve decided to call it a day on climbing into the ring, a decision that did not come easy and gave me plenty of restless nights over the last couple of months.”
“To my family for all your support and encouragement along the journey – thank you, I owe it all to you. I couldn’t have asked for two better mentors in Pete Taylor and Billy Walsh, the memories I shared with them are something special. To Padraig Murphy for taking me to the top level of physical fitness, he always had me in great shape going in to every championship. A massive thanks to my bosses in Bray and in particular John Fitzpatrick. None of this would have happened without his generosity and understanding.”
“Most importantly, thank you to every loyal supporter who I’ve shared the good and bad times with, you wont be forgotten. I’ve had no regrets and for me it’s time to hang up the gloves and enjoy a few years of hurling back home with Oulart the Ballagh.”
Irish-Boxing.com would like to wish Adam Nolan our best wishes in retirement, a gentleman outside of the ring and a hell of a fighter inside it.
Photo Credit: Ricardo Guglielminotti – The Fighting Irish (@ThefIrish)
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