- Garside says he may retire from boxing for good
- Is excited to play another sport in the summer
- Garside was knocked out of the Paris Games after a shock defeat
Australian boxer Harry Garside has revealed he may retire from boxing altogether, opening up about the new sport he plans to take up this summer.
Garside’s two-year dream of winning gold in Paris was snatched from his grasp by a devastating blow last month.
He lost his first fight in the men’s 63.5kg class to Hungary’s Richard Kovacs via unanimous decision after winning bronze at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
The 27-year-old broke down in tears after the crushing loss, saying he felt like a “failure” and that the “next month or two” would be “really challenging.”
Garside managed to recover from the defeat and published a book, ‘The Good Fight’, which he discussed at length on the Fitzy and Wippa morning show on Nova FM.
When asked about his plans after the Olympics, Garside indicated that he is busy.
“Just staying fitter… the decisions I made when it wasn’t working out were negative, and I’m just trying to do more positive things,” he revealed.
“So I train every day. I keep fit. I want to do some triathlons in the summer. I love boxing, so I will always keep boxing, I’m not sure about professionally and I don’t know about the next Olympics.
Harry Garside says his future is uncertain after shock defeat at Paris Games
Garside was emotional after losing to Hungarian Richard Kovacs in his first fight in Paris
‘Maybe I’ll quit altogether… I’ll keep doing it until I don’t love it anymore.’
The former plumber revealed last month that he also unexpectedly found love.
“I woke up on New Year’s Day and thought to myself, ‘This is going to be a big year… no relationships, I’m just focused on winning the gold medal,’” he said.
‘During that process I fell in love…it happened so unexpectedly and I think that’s the best kind of love…when you’re not looking for it, but it just comes into my life.
‘She’s originally from Sydney but currently lives in London so I’m really excited that she’s coming back later this year… she’s definitely worth the wait.’
The Victoria boxer also spoke about why he pursued success in boxing.
The Victoria boxer says he still trains every day and stays as fit as possible
“I think I think more about myself and why I wanted success, because I felt like I was worthless,” he said.
‘I don’t know where it came from, and I’m sure there are some memories I can remember, but for most of my life I thought that those gold medals I won in the world of sports would change my beliefs about myself. And that’s what happened, I think, throughout the journey.
‘But I won the gold medal at the Commonwealth Games and I sat in my room afterwards and felt miserable.
“I won the bronze medal in Tokyo, and I was in quarantine, I looked in the mirror with the medal around my neck and I still did that, but I still wasn’t happy with myself.”