IABA hold Kelyn Cassidy hope amid pro-interest
The IABA are quietly confident Kelyn Cassidy will ignore the pro pull and remain amateur for the time being.
The Waterford fighter’s future has been a subject of debate since he missed out on Olympic qualification earlier this month.
Irish-boxing.com understands there is strong professional interest both inside and outside Ireland. Considering he will be 30 by the time of the next Games and taking into account the fact boxing isn’t guaranteed to be at LA 2028, many felt promoters and managers could tempt him to ditch the vest.
However, High-Performance director Tricia Heberle remains hopeful the St Saviour’s Crystal fighter will remain part of the Irish set-up.
“I’ve had several conversations with Kelyn, he’s a very honest young man and he wants to fight on,” she said.
“His immediate target would be the World Championships in April 2025, and we’ll be doing individual meetings with every athlete and we’ll just try to establish the plan.
“We have a great deal of belief in him and he was so unlucky, but he’s not a quitter, and I think we’ll see him again in the HPU – we’ll probably see him representing Ireland between now and the new year and we’ll try to focus him on the World Championships next year.”
With big financial rewards on offer at the World Championships it’s quite possible a number of Irish amateurs may target that competition rather than take the more traditional option of turning over immediately after an Olympic cycle.
Speaking on Cassidy Irish Coach Damian Kennedy said: “Kelyn was so unlucky in the three tournaments, 3-2 on all occasions, but he’s not a quitter.
“I’ve already had a one-on-one with him myself and he’s forming where he sees his future and right now he just wants another break. He’s been well supported by his work in Waterford, they’ve been very good to him, but he needs a break now and to regather his thoughts.
“We’ll sit down with him when he comes back in and we’ll put a plan together to see where the journey takes him.”
