Former Olympic silver medallist Kenny Egan believes Billy Walsh's shoes will be tough to fill and also shared his worries about the potential consequences the departure of Irish boxing's High Performance head coach will have on the sport in this country.
Speaking to Off The Ball tonight, Egan detailed the role Walsh has played in Ireland's recent success in boxing and revealed his worries that the Wexford man's right hand man Zaur Antia could follow him to the USA in the long run.
"The only thing I'm worried about now is Billy goes away to America and gets settled there and is happy there. He has the right then to bring people with him and set up his own High Performance. That's what I'd worry. Who's he going to take with him? Will Zaur travel? All his kids are reared and Billy's kids are reared. Zaur could make the move and then where would Irish boxing be then? The IABA think there are 20 coaches to fill Zaur's shoes? Not in a million years and I can vouch for that."
Egan says he spoke to Walsh in the wake of his resignation this week to see how he was and said that Walsh told him, "'just drained' he said. 'I was crying all last night' he said. 'I have to do what's best for myself' and I respect that.
"He has to do what's best for himself. He's 50-odd years of age. He has no pension plan, nothing in place for him and with the IABA I can vouch for this. You're only a number in there. They pat you on the back when you're finished and that's what would have happened to Billy Walsh after Rio."
Zaur Antia (left) with Billy Walsh ©INPHO/Cathal Noonan
Egan feels that Zaur Antia's presence at present means Irish boxing won't go downhill and believes this country's boxers "will still win medals in Rio".
"If I was there I would give Zaur the head coaching job, which is the head coach on the floor looking after the boxers and get someone in underneath him. But then they still need some type of a director to organise stuff upstairs. That's what we're missing. [Billy] was doing both [roles]. He was down on the floor with Zaur an awful lot but he was still upstairs organising stuff all the time but he still had that constant battle across the carpark with the IABA," he said, also suggesting that "there was fierce politics going on upstairs and for Billy to walk away the way he did, there must have been more. It has to be more than just having the power to select the team".
"In an ideal world, the IABA would work in cahoots with the High Performance and everybody would be happy. Let the high performance do their job which is coaching boxers and trying to reach their potential," he stated, adding that "Billy and Zaur [Antia] should be able to have the powers to select boxers".
Egan also detailed the selection process for major tournaments and the history of the High Performance Unit.
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