Niall Kennedy Retires
Niall Kennedy [14(9)-2(2)-1] has hung them up.
Just weeks after the heavyweight had confirmed he would return to the ring and fight for the first time since March of last year on the November 19 Dublin fight night, the Wexford heavyweight revealed he was retiring.
‘Boom Boom Baz’ confirmed the news on social media over the weekend, stating: “Taken me a few days to get to grips with this but I am now officially retired from boxing. I’ve given 31 years of my life to this sport but I’ve gained more than I’ve ever lost. Lots of highs and lows but friendships forged that il never forget. Thank you.”
Taken me a few days to get to grips with this but I am now officially retired from boxing. Iv given 31 years of my life to this sport but iv gained more than I've ever lost. Lots of highs and lows but friendships forged that il never forget. Thank u #goreybc @packycollins 🙏🙏👊
— Niall Kennedy Boxer (@niallbaskennedy) October 23, 2022
The reason behind the extremely popular heavyweight’s decision has yet to be officially revealed, although it has been suggested Kennedy suffered an injury in camp and as a result, decided it was time to call it a day.
The Gorey fighter won Intermediate National honours as far back as 2006 and was a regular at Elite level during a golden period of Irish super heavyweights, where he competed for the top spot alongside the likes of Con Sheenan, Dean ‘Breakfast’ Gardiner and Sean ‘Big Sexy’ Turner among others.
He gained further notoriety when he joined the paid ranks in 2015 forging a reputation as a heavyweight prospect thanks to some stateside success.
The Pascal Collins trained big man won USA Massachusetts State and New England heavyweight titles, the latter thanks to a career-best win over Alexis Santos, under the Murphys Boxing banner and became a Boston favourite.
After a few more wins Kennedy, who is often referred to as one of the nicest people in boxing, took on Devan Vargas, a former Olympian despite suffering a back injury in the lead-up to the fight and suffered a first career defeat. He then stepped into the Matchroom spotlight against Alan Babic, who defeated an under par Kennedy, who considered retiring at that point. However, he returned with a win away from home in Belgium last March.
He hasn’t been seen in action since, with the pandemic and a lack of domestic fight cards preventing him from regaining momentum. Now just when he looked like he would get out again, he called it a day at the age of 38.
Kennedy bows out with a solid career under his belt especially considering he worked full-time as a Garda, boxed at a time when shows were not regular in Ireland and he had injury issues.
Got to be one of my Fondest memories @niallbaskennedy #flyingwithoutwings 🙏🏼☘🥊 https://t.co/KDjvZ8qMUa pic.twitter.com/UoKCHDzi4F
— Packie Collins (@packycollins) October 24, 2022
The ever humble heavy also proved an inspiration to mental health suffers and spoke well on the issue on numerous occasions.
Irish-boxing.com would like to thank Niall for all the entertainment over the years as well as the access. We would also like to confirm he is one of the nicest people in boxing.
