IRISH boxing chiefs will sit down with Kelyn Cassidy to discuss his future in the coming weeks, amid interest from professional promoters.
The big-hitting Waterford man - who narrowly missed out on qualification for this summer’s Olympic Games in Paris - has caught the eye since bursting onto the elite scene in recent years, and would be an exciting addition to the paid ranks.
Cassidy saw split decisions go against him in all three win-or-bust qualification bouts over the past year, with his Olympic dream finally coming to an end at the final World qualifier in Bangkok earlier this month.
However, it remains to be seen what his future holds.
“Kelyn was so unlucky in the three tournaments, 3-2 on all occasions, but he’s not a quitter,” said Irish coach Damian Kennedy.
“I’ve already had a one-on-one with him myself and he’s forming where he sees his future and right now he just wants another break. He’s been well supported by his work in Waterford, they’ve been very good to him, but he needs a break now and to regather his thoughts.
“We’ll sit down with him when he comes back in and we’ll put a plan together to see where the journey takes him.”
And High Performance director Tricia Heberle hopes light-heavyweight Cassidy will still be part of the Irish set-up heading towards the start of the next Olympic cycle.
“I’ve had several conversations with Kelyn, he’s a very honest young man and he wants to fight on.
“His immediate target would be the World Championships in April 2025, and we’ll be doing individual meetings with every athlete and we’ll just try to establish the plan.
“We have a great deal of belief in him and he was so unlucky, but he’s not a quitter, and I think we’ll see him again in the HPU - we’ll probably see him representing Ireland between now and the new year and we’ll try to focus him on the World Championships next year.”
