World Championship silver-medallist Kellie Harrington has said a mouthwatering bout with Katie Taylor could be in the pipeline, as she comes to terms with the frustration of missing out on a ticket to Rio.
The 26-year-old was only denied gold in the light-weltwerweight final by China’s Wenlu Yang in Kazakhstan last May, but since her class is not an Olympic weight, she'll be forced to kick her heels this summer.
Harrington aired her disappointment at that rule, but revealed a drop to 60kg - and potential face-off with Olympic gold medallist Taylor - is now at the top of her ambitions.
"It's a fight a lot of people have always talked about," Harrington told RTÉ Sport when considering a match-up with the Bray woman.
"They'd love to see it; two different style fighters, two good friends, it would be a fight everyone would like to see. It could be down the line.
"If she's in the National Stadium for the Nationals it could happen. We've never fought before. We've never crossed paths."
"It's a fight a lot of people have always talked about."
Harrington was outstanding in Astana, lining up a shot at gold thanks to a dominant display over Sara Kali before falling ta the last hurdle.
Despite that defeat, she returned to Ireland full of confidence, although she described the fact her achievements did not earn her an Olympic spot as "unfair".
"I do think it's unfair. They say if they put in more women's weight classed they might have to take out some of the men's. Why not just cap it a number for all boxers throughout?
"Cap it at a certain amount for the men, a certain amount for the women and put in more women's weights.
"I got to the final and if I was in 60kg it would have meant I was going to Rio. But I'm not unfortunately.
"That's something I'll be looking into in the future. I've found my feet now so I'm ready to push forward and try and go a little bit further."
