Irish boxer Kellie Harrington passed up the chance to sign with a major boxing promoter after winning gold at the Paris Olympics.
The 34-year-old from Dublin bested fellow Irishwoman Katie Taylor’s feat of winning a gold medal by making it two in a row at Paris 2024. Taylor won gold at London 2012 and was subsequently signed by Eddie Hearn before making tens of millions of dollars in sponsorship and purses. Taylor will share a bill with Mike Tyson on November 15, picking up her most significant check in a rematch with Amanda Serrano.
Despite being four years younger than Taylor and having interest from Hearn and other boxing figureheads, Harrington decided to retire after becoming a double Olympic champion.
Harrington beat China’s Yang Wenlu from China via a 4-1 split decision to overtake Taylor as the most decorated Olympic boxer in Ireland’s history. Harrington holds two of Ireland’s 15 gold medals at the Olympics, with Taylor and Michael Carruth on one.
Before overhauling Yang, Harrington took a bye into the second round before defeating Italy’s Alessia Mesiano, Colombia’s Angie Valdés, and Brazil’s Beatriz Ferreira.
Kellie Harrington retires after second gold
After her historic triumph, Harrington confirmed she’d go out on top.
“It was amazing. Afterward, I said to the coaches, ‘Is there anything I won’t do?'” Harrington said. “It was brilliant. The Irish are just great. I never expected anything like that. This is something I’m never going to forget, ever.
“It’s been three years of madness. It’s been hard, so I decided it was for me. I was doing it for me and me alone. I’m so happy and proud of myself for being here and for doing what I’m doing. When you reach a mountain, you find another mountain, and that’s what I’ve done. It wasn’t easy to climb that mountain.”
Confirming her retirement, Harrington added, “I’m done now. The next chapter is going to be my life chapter. It’s for me and [my wife] Mandy now.
“I can’t wait just to live my life. To not be looking at the scales every morning. When it’s crazy, and all boxers will say the same, to train the way we want to train. It’s like, we can’t do that because we can’t get injured, or you can’t do that because you will be tired tomorrow, and then you won’t have anything to be able to spar. I want to be able to do whatever type of training I want to do.
“It’s the stuff of dreams. It’s just mad, it’s crazy. Nicola Adams, Clarissa Shields, and Kellie Harrington. To be up there with them is just amazing,” added the two-time gold medalist.
Harrington’s victory was the most-watched sporting event in Ireland for over a decade, with 1.3 million tuning in on RTE.
Read all articles and exclusive interviews by Phil Jay. Learn more about the author, experienced boxing writer, and World Boxing News Editor since 2010. Follow on Twitter @PhilJWBN.
