Zaur Antia has announced his retirement after 10 hugely successful years as head coach of the Irish Athletic Boxing Association's high performance unit.
The Georgian, who has been with the IABA since 2003, replaced the similarly successful Billy Walsh after the Wexford man's shock resignation less than a year before the 2016 Olympic Games.
Antia, who has been involved for 20 World or Olympic medals, told RTÉ Sport he was leaving the Irish Athletic Boxing Association because "23 years is quite a long time" and that "you have to know when to stop"
However, he also suggested he might coach again, adding: "I need time to take a rest and then think for another cycle, maybe."
In a statement issued by the IABA, Antia, who turned 63 in September, said: "I have loved every moment of my time with Irish boxing. When I joined the Irish Athletic Boxing Association in 2003, high-performance training was delivered in the gym at the National Stadium and the formal high-performance system was just beginning. Now, we are based in the Institute of Sport supported by world-leading sport science medical practitioners.
"There is a strong system, with excellent coaches and wonderful boxers. Nothing stays the same always, and now is a good time for change with leaders like (high performance director) Jon Mackey and (coach) Damian Kennedy. Irish boxing is in good hands."
"Zauri is one of the best boxing coaches in the world" - Kellie Harrington
Mackey said: "What a legacy this man leaves behind. The scale of Zauri's achievements as a coach, and the depth of his contribution to Irish boxing over 22 remarkable years, is nothing short of extraordinary.
"He has shaped the careers of countless athletes, guided them through the highest levels of international competition, and instilled in them the belief, discipline, and technical excellence required to succeed. Equally significant is his dedication to developing the next generation of Irish coaches.
"While we will greatly miss his presence within the high-performance programme, his contribution will continue to echo through every gym, every corner, and every Irish athlete who benefited from his guidance. Zauri leaves the programme stronger, smarter, and more confident than he found it and for that, we owe him our deepest thanks."
Two time Olympic champion, Kellie Harrington, who recently reversed her own decision to retire, said: "Zauri is one of the best boxing coaches in the world. His influence on me, and on my career, has been massive.
"His boxing brain, his planning, his strategies are as exceptional as he is. I can't quite put in to words how much he means to me.
"He can come up with great tactical plans and that was a big part of my decision to come out of retirement.
"We have agreed that he will always be a mentor to me and someone that I'll be able to pick the phone up to and ring. And if he's in Ireland and I'm in Ireland and I need some pad work that he'd be there to do that as well so that relationship won't be lost."
Antia won six national titles and a Soviet Union bronze medal as a competitor before moving into coaching.
After initial success with the underage set-up in his own country, he joined the IABA as a technical coach having lost out on the Irish head coach role to Walsh.
"Before I came in Ireland, I was a head coach of the national team of Georgia Youths, and before that I worked with the Soviet Union team as well," he said.
"Then when the Irish man, Daniel O'Connell, met me in Georgia and that planted the seed, he told me about some job interview and I decided to challenge myself.
"When I succeeded with the interview, I met a very good team here with [former high-performance director] Gary Keegan and Billy Walsh - very good people who strive to learn and continue development. We worked very hard here for everything."
In 2008, Antia was alongside Walsh as Ireland claimed their first boxing medals in 26 years when Kenny Egan won silver along with bronze medals for Paddy Barnes and the late Darren Sutherland.
Four years later in London, Katie Taylor was Ireland's golden girl while Barnes, again, Michael Conlan and John Joe Nevin also medalled.
Walsh's shock departure so close to the Olympics was a factor as Ireland's boxers came home from Brazil empty-handed in 2016 - although some horrific judging decisions played a bigger part. Antia, however, signed a contract to remain as head coach until 2021.
Despite that blip, the medal haul which had begun under Walsh's guidance continued with Antia at the helm as Irish boxers routinely returned from World and Olympic games with a fistful of medals.
Harrington memorably took gold at the Covid-delayed Tokyo games in 2021, with Aidan Walsh collecting bronze.
Harrington would become first Irish fighter to retain an Olympic title at Paris 2024, a feat Antia described as "the greatest sporting moment of my life in Ireland".
"We had good challenge [at the start]," Antia recalled at the announcement of his retirement. "We put the plans, what works, what doesn't work, and the main decision we made was to work with the best.
"We went in Russia, Kazakhstan, the best boxing countries in the world. That's how we started from beginning, it was not easy. There was not so much budget. We trained only one or two days a week. We even lived in the National Stadium over there.
"But that's how you know you love your business and you are working correctly with good people around you. That's how success comes in."
