Paddy Barnes has confirmed that he will leave amateur boxing behind and campaign as a professional.
The Belfast fighter was beaten in his first fight at the Rio Olympics, and then watched his close friend Michael Conlan lose a highly controversial decision – leaving the pair entirely disillusioned with the amateur game.
“Now it’s time to go pro, I’ve been in the amateurs too long and I want a new challenge,” he said today. “The experience was brilliant, but after a few Olympics I know what it’s like.”
The news is unlikely to surprise many people – including Hot Press readers, as the fighter told our man Colm O'Regan before the games that it was his likely path.
"Winning medals doesn't pay your mortgage," he said. "Last year, I fought the whole way through the World Series of Boxing and didn't get paid. You're reliant on funding money, and that's far from guaranteed. I've been boxing at a high level for so long that there was no time for education, meaning I've no qualifications for another job."
"I'd feel ready to be world champion tomorrow," he continued. "I'm already fighting five three-minute rounds against the best amateurs in the world, far better than the journeymen you find at the start of a pro career."
He hopes to have his first paid bout at home in Belfast before 2016 is out.