We’re no detectives but we sense there could be an awful lot more to this story than meets the eye.
Boxing fans and Irish sports fan in general were hugely saddened this morning to find out that Billy Walsh had tendered his resignation with the IABA.
The long serving coach had failed to come to an agreement with the boxing organisation for the retention of his services, and he is heading to America on Thursday to try and finalise a deal to work with the USA women’s boxing team.
There has been long rumours of Walsh’s apparent breakdown in his relationship with the IABA, and speaking on tonight’s Off The Ball he confirmed that he has been unhappy for a long time.
The Wexford man, who has been part of various Irish boxing successes over the last two decades, explained that he would loved to have stayed working in Ireland, but there was too many factors preventing him for doing so,
“When the contract was offered, if I’d have stepped left or right I was probably going to get the bullet anyway so it’s better to leave on your own terms.”
“The financial terms were grand but then the non-financial part of it was unacceptable to me. That’s why we don’t have agreement.
Poor Billy Walsh sounds broken on @offtheball What a poxy situation.
— Carol Smurf (@CarolSmurf) October 19, 2015
Walsh then hinted that there may have been a power battle within the IABA that could have led to his resignation, with the coach intimating that he was seeking more control over matters that he felt concerned about,
“I just want to be able to do the job. This has been dismantled along the way in my view and I wanted that control back so that we could drive this team forward heading towards Rio.”
“The last year and a half it started to be dismantled and people being taken out of your office.”
Listening to Off the Ball. Billy Walsh sounds gutted over his treatment. My gut says this is salvageable depending on IABA will.
— Proinsias De Bátúin (@debatuin) October 19, 2015
Walsh also revealed he’s heading to America later this week to try and thrash out a new deal which could see him training boxers to fight Katie Taylor at next year’s Olympic games.
The Wexford man admits it would be a horrible feeling to be plotting against the Bray woman.
“That would be a nightmare yeah. But you have to move on and if you work for someone else then you work in a different country then that’s your country and that’s your team. That team will be my team by the time they get to know me.”
The IABA have released a statement of their own tonight in which they have thanked Walsh for his service
“The IABA is deeply disappointed not to retain his valued services, and for the avoidance of any doubt, the IABA has done its utmost to retain Billy Walsh as Head Coach. However, Billy himself has made the decision to resign and take up a position with USA Boxing, and we wish him every success with this.”
“Billy has been part of a team within the High Performance Unit since its inception in 2003. We would like to thank him for the tremendous hard work and dedication he has brought to the role and acknowledge his contribution to the great success of the Unit and its boxers.”
