Zaur Antia has hinted that he will stay in his role as Irish head coach, despite interest in his services from a number of international boxing federations.
Bray-based Georgian native Antia is believed to have received lucrative coaching offers from North America and the Middle East, while it is understood that he is no longer formally tied down to Irish boxing following the conclusion of the Rio Olympic Games.
Antia took up his role as interim head coach until the end of the Games following the acrimonious departure of Billy Walsh from Irish boxing last year.
The Georgian and the Irish Athletic Boxing Association (IABA) are set to conduct a post-Olympic review in the coming weeks following their unsuccessful campaign in Rio.
Antia said he will hold talks with the IABA once that review is completed, although he is keen to stay in his role as Irish head coach.
“I think I will stay, but we’ll see. I want the team to [get] more respect, this is a great team and they deserve respect, and the group,” said Antia after arriving in Dublin Airport on Wednesday evening.
Medal hopes Michael Conlan and Katie Taylor were on the wrong end of highly contentious points losses in Rio, while two-time Olympic medallist Paddy Barnes and two-time world medallist Joe Ward suffered shock defeats in their opening bouts.
Prior to those losses, middleweight Michael O’Reilly was sent home after failing a doping test, which marked an unsavoury start to a poor Olympic campaign.
Antia explained that his eagerness to get Irish boxing back to winning ways is one of the main reasons he is keen to stay on.
“I’m not happy with this… I can’t go without winning,” said the Georgian. “In my heart, I want to see my team strong again.
“Everybody seen the fights, everybody saw how well our team done. My heart is broken, but I don’t feel miserable,” continued Antia, who questioned the controversial standards of ringside judging in Rio following Taylor and Conlan’s respective losses.
“We did not win medals, but every boxer performed well and everybody who was there said how close the fights were.
“I have all the details of how we prepared, how we measured each boxer’s condition – their psychology, physiology. We have video analysis… we have absolutely everything we should have to show people.
“We will review everything, of course,” added Antia, who remains highly rated in world boxing despite Ireland’s failure to claim an Olympic medal for the first time since 2004.
The Georgian is widely credited for improving the technical skills of Ireland’s Elite boxers, which greatly helped Irish boxing emerge as a force on the world stage.
