IN THE ZONE
After an all-conquering 2022, Amy Broadhurst is ready to go up a level
SUCH was the extent of Amy Broadhurst’s remarkable success during 2022 — a year that saw her crowned a World, European and Commonwealth champion — that the gifted Dundalk woman was always likely to be a star attractions at this year’s IABA National Elite Championships, which get underway in the National Stadium tomorrow evening.
There was even a time when we were getting excited at the prospect of Broadhurst being on a collision course with Tokyo gold medalist Kellie Harrington at her natural 60kg weight.
However, she confirmed before Christmas that she was going to make a 6kg jump up to welterweight to pursue her Olympic
“I wanted to walk away, things would get me down”
dream as it was the next available weight for the Paris Games.
That seemed to open the way for a showdown with fellow world champion Lisa O’Rourke, as the Roscommon native had to drop down one weight to fulfil her Olympic ambitions.
However, the 20-year-old suffered a thumb injury while sparring a couple of weeks ago and had to withdraw from the nationals completely.
It doesn’t give Broadhurst a free run towards June’s European Games in Krakow that serve as the first of three Olympic qualifiers as the welterweight division is still quite competitive.
She still has to face Irish international Kaci Rock in Saturday’s semi-final before a decider against either Gráinne Walsh or Leanne Murphy. But the route is a little less treacherous.
In an extraordinary year when Irish boxing claimed 51 major international medals, Broadhurst was the undoubted story. Her three major titles came at two different weights — the world and European titles were at 63kg (light-welter) while Commonwealth gold was achieved in the 60kg grade (lightweight).
All but one of her 15 major championship bouts were claimed by unanimous decision too, a sign of her dominance. And she was also named boxer of the tournament at last May’s World Championships.
And she did all of this having reached a crossroads in her career just 12 months ago. Frustrated by all the politics around the sport, Broadhurst was ready to give up on the passion in her life at just 24 years of age.
‘This time last year, I was speaking to a psychologist because I couldn’t see a future in boxing,’ she revealed to Off the Ball some weeks back.
‘Everything that was going on, the politics that was going on, everything was getting me down and I actually thought about walking away from the sport because I thought this isn’t going to work out for me.’
She spoke to a couple of people in the High Performance Unit as well as Katie Taylor, her childhood idol.
Taylor also enlisted Broadhurst to do some sparring work ahead of her showdown with Amanda Serrano, all of which helped the Dundalk fighter get back on track.
Broadhurst has had a setback before in her career. In the 2018 World Championships, she was denied a medal at light-welterweight by a controversial decision in the quarter-finals.
‘There have been times when it has been tough and I have wanted to walk away,’ she has said.
‘In the juniors and youths, when I had a tough time, I would always throw my toys out of the pram and my dad would have to speak to me and calm me down.
‘He’s the reason I got into High Performance and one of the coaches in High Performance, Eoin Pluck, I get on really well with, he is able to calm me in the corner and I probably owe him a lot.’
Broadhurst started boxing by following her three older brothers to Dealgan Boxing Club where their father Tony was a coach. Watching Taylor claim gold in London fuelled her dreams and ambitions and following a sensational 2022, she is now looking forward to Paris as one of Ireland’s most exciting prospects.
It won’t be without its challenges, not least having to go up 5.5kg in weight.
But Broadhurst has stood up to anything presented to her over the past year.
Punters will be hoping that it is not just Broadhurst produicing the fireworks on South Circular Road over the next two weekends. The men’s 57kg division promises to be very competitive, with a showdown brewing between Adam Hession and Jake Rapple.
European middleweight medalist Gabriel Dossen has moved up to 81kg (light-heavy) in an effort to qualify for Paris while the women’s 50kg (flyweight) division could see some of the best boxing with a number of European medalists such as Shannon Sweeney, Caitlín Fryers and Diana Moorehouse as well as Commonwealth medalist Carly McNaul all vying for top spot.
WEIGHT CATEGORIES FOR PARIS 2024: Men’s – 51kg, 57kg, 63.5kg, 71kg, 80kg, 92kg, 92kg. Women’s – 50kg, 54kg, 57kg, 60kg, 66kg, 75kg.
“My dad would have to calm me down”