Kenneth Egan
Encyclopedia
Kenneth "Kenny" Egan (born January 7, 1982) is an amateur boxer from Clondalkin
, Dublin best known for winning a Silver Medal in the final of the 81 kg, Light-Heavyweight boxing final at the 2008 Olympics. European Gold Medal in the 2008 Athens Olympic Qualifiers and a European Bronze Medal in 2006 and 2010 at Light-heavyweight.
Egan won the national championships from 2005 to 2007, where he twice beat Darren O'Neill in the final. In all he has won 9 Irish titles, including 7 light-heavyweight belts.
in Plovdiv, Bulgaria he lost his semifinal to Russian eventual winner Artur Beterbiyev
.
held at the University of Illinois Chicago's UIC Pavilion. He beat Julius Jackson
and Julio Castillo
then lost to Marijo Sivolija
.
,
at the second he beat four fighters including Kennedy Katende
and made it to Beijing.
At the 2008 Olympics he once again defeated Julius Jackson
from The Virgin Islands
in the round of 32. In the round of 16 he defeated Bahram Muzaffer
, the Turkish boxer, before overcoming Brazilian Washington Silva in the quarter-final. This third victory guaranteed Egan and Ireland a medal, the third medal secured following Paddy Barnes
and Darren Sutherland
's advancement to the semi-finals. Egan beat Tony Jeffries
, the British boxer, in the semi-final round. He lost to China's Xiaoping Zhang in the Olympic Final Gold Medal match in Beijing
on Sunday 24 August 2008.
Mary McAleese
and Taoiseach
Brian Cowen
gave Egan some glowing tributes.
"I am delighted to learn of Kenny's wonderful accomplishment today in Beijing," the President said. "The people of Ireland are uplifted by this outstanding achievement which continues a tradition of Irish Olympic boxing excellence dating back to 1952.""
Cowen echoed these remarks by saying "Kenny fought a brave fight and gave everything in a wonderful bout of top class boxing"Glowing Tributes
Xiaoping, the judges failed to score several punches landed by Egan that would
have given him the lead. NBC announcers concurred on this point.
The scoring system throughout the Olympics had been the topic of many debates, not only in this bout, but throughout many of the games. Reuters, Monday August 25 2008. Irish bookmaker, Paddy Power
, paid out all bets on Egan to win the Gold, despite this not being the actual result.
and went back to Clondalkin to a heroes welcome. Since the Olympics, he has become a popular figure in Ireland and has appeared on TV chat shows and advertisements, and has been a part of the celebrity scene in Ireland. In November 2008 he released a DVD titled "Kenny Egan – Back from Beijing" which chronicles his journey to the silver medal in Beijing.
On Friday the 28th February 2009 he was scheduled to fight at the national stadium in a match against the USA, but he failed to turn up for the fight and appeared to have left the country, with more reports of him having left the country due to messages left on social networking site twitter
. On Tuesday the 3rd of March it was reported that he was in New York
and would return in a couple of days. He released a statement apologising to his team mates for the non-show against the USA and for disappearing to New York. He also pulled out of the undercard programme of Bernard Dunnes's
World Title Fight Night at The O2 arena Dublin on Saturday 21 March, admitting that he would not be ready for it.
On 17 July 2009, Egan was back in action at the National Stadium where he outpointed Crumlin light middleweight Darren Cruise, who retired at the start of round three when Egan was in the lead 16–2, in the Open Senior Light Heavyweight final.
On August 1, 2009, Egan lost a match to Sweden's Babacar Kamara.
He won the bronze medal at the 2010 European Amateur Boxing Championships
at Moscow, Russia after he lost to Abdelkader Bouhenia
from France
in the Semifinals.
In January 2011, Egan publicly said he suffers from a drink problem and now attends regular Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.'I was drinking too much. I was in a bad place. I was drinking too much. Ever since I got back from the games I just went mad on it and didn't stop' he said.
Clondalkin
-Today:Modern Clondalkin is a busy satellite town of Dublin, with a population of 43,929 in 2006. Retail facilities include Tesco Ireland- and Dunnes Stores-led shopping centres, and Aldi and Lidl stores on the Fonthill Road and New Nangor Road respectively, and the village centre is a base for...
, Dublin best known for winning a Silver Medal in the final of the 81 kg, Light-Heavyweight boxing final at the 2008 Olympics. European Gold Medal in the 2008 Athens Olympic Qualifiers and a European Bronze Medal in 2006 and 2010 at Light-heavyweight.
Career
Egan currently fights out of the Neilstown Boxing Club that is based in Dublin. He fights in the 81 kg class that is more commonly known in boxing circles as Light-Heavyweight.Egan won the national championships from 2005 to 2007, where he twice beat Darren O'Neill in the final. In all he has won 9 Irish titles, including 7 light-heavyweight belts.
2006 European Amateur Boxing Championships – Bulgaria
At the 2006 European Amateur Boxing Championships2006 European Amateur Boxing Championships
The Men's 2006 European Amateur Boxing Championships were held in Plovdiv, Bulgaria from July 13 to July 23. The 36th edition of this bi-annual competition was organised by the European governing body for amateur boxing, EABA.-Medal winners:-Medal table:...
in Plovdiv, Bulgaria he lost his semifinal to Russian eventual winner Artur Beterbiyev
Artur Beterbiyev
Artur Asilbekovich Beterbiyev is a Chechen amateur boxer best known to win silver at the 2007 World Amateur Boxing Championships and gold at the 2009 World Amateur Boxing Championships and the Euro title 2006 at light heavyweight.-Career:The aggressive puncher Beterbiyev won the 2006 European...
.
Results
- Defeated Robert Woge (Germany) RSCO 2
- Defeated Mamadou Diambang (France) RSCO 3
- Beaten by Artur BeterbiyevArtur BeterbiyevArtur Asilbekovich Beterbiyev is a Chechen amateur boxer best known to win silver at the 2007 World Amateur Boxing Championships and gold at the 2009 World Amateur Boxing Championships and the Euro title 2006 at light heavyweight.-Career:The aggressive puncher Beterbiyev won the 2006 European...
(Russia) RSCO 2
2007 World Amateur Boxing Championships, Chicago
At the 2007 World Amateur Boxing Championships2007 World Amateur Boxing Championships
The 2007 AIBA World Boxing Championships were held in Chicago, United States from October 23, 2007 to November 3, 2007. It was held at the UIC Pavilion. It was the biggest World Championships in AIBA history. The championships were originally awarded to Moscow...
held at the University of Illinois Chicago's UIC Pavilion. He beat Julius Jackson
Julius Jackson
Julius Jackson is an amateur boxer from the Virgin Islands who qualified for he 2008 Olympics at light-heavyweight just like his brother John Jackson...
and Julio Castillo
Julio Castillo
Julio Castillo is an amateur boxer from Ecuador best known to win bronze in the men's light-heavyweight division at the 2007 Pan American Games and Silver in 2011.-Career:...
then lost to Marijo Sivolija
Marijo Šivolija
Marijo Šivolija-Jelica is a Croatian amateur boxer best known to medal repeatedly in international competition at light heavyweight.-Career:In 2003 he won a silver medal at the European Championships....
.
Results
- Defeated Julius JacksonJulius JacksonJulius Jackson is an amateur boxer from the Virgin Islands who qualified for he 2008 Olympics at light-heavyweight just like his brother John Jackson...
(Virgin Islands) RSCO 2 - Defeated Julio CastilloJulio CastilloJulio Castillo is an amateur boxer from Ecuador best known to win bronze in the men's light-heavyweight division at the 2007 Pan American Games and Silver in 2011.-Career:...
(Ecuador) 16–10 - Beaten by Marijo SivolijaMarijo ŠivolijaMarijo Šivolija-Jelica is a Croatian amateur boxer best known to medal repeatedly in international competition at light heavyweight.-Career:In 2003 he won a silver medal at the European Championships....
(Croatia) 17–9
Beijing 2008 Olympics campaign
At the first Olympic qualifier the southpaw was upset by Ramazan MagomedovRamazan Magomedov
Ramazan Magomedov whose second name is also sometimes spelt Magamedau is a Belarusian amateur boxer who qualified for the 2008 Olympics at light-heavyweight.The elusive Magomedov lost to Tony Jeffries at the 2007 World Championships....
,
at the second he beat four fighters including Kennedy Katende
Kennedy Katende
Kennedy Katende is a Swedish amateur boxer from Sundsvall who qualified for the 2008 Olympics in the light-heavyweight division....
and made it to Beijing.
At the 2008 Olympics he once again defeated Julius Jackson
Julius Jackson
Julius Jackson is an amateur boxer from the Virgin Islands who qualified for he 2008 Olympics at light-heavyweight just like his brother John Jackson...
from The Virgin Islands
Virgin Islands
The Virgin Islands are the western island group of the Leeward Islands, which are the northern part of the Lesser Antilles, which form the border between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean...
in the round of 32. In the round of 16 he defeated Bahram Muzaffer
Bahram Muzaffer
Bahram Muzaffer is a Turkish amateur boxer competing in the heavyweight division.He qualified for the 2008 Olympics at light-heavyweight after he was re-allocated the position vacated by Ismayl Sillakh. At the Olympics, Muzaffer beat Aziz Ali but lost in the round of 16 to Ireland's runner-up...
, the Turkish boxer, before overcoming Brazilian Washington Silva in the quarter-final. This third victory guaranteed Egan and Ireland a medal, the third medal secured following Paddy Barnes
Paddy Barnes
Patrick Barnes, more commonly known as Paddy Barnes, is an Irish amateur boxer from Belfast, County Antrim, Northern Ireland....
and Darren Sutherland
Darren Sutherland
Darren John Sutherland was an Irish professional boxer from County Meath, Ireland. His amateur career was crowned by a bronze medal for Ireland in the middleweight division at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China....
's advancement to the semi-finals. Egan beat Tony Jeffries
Tony Jeffries
Tony David Jeffries is an English professional boxer who won a bronze medal in the 2008 Summer Olympics...
, the British boxer, in the semi-final round. He lost to China's Xiaoping Zhang in the Olympic Final Gold Medal match in Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
on Sunday 24 August 2008.
European Olympic Qualifications – Pescara, Italy
- Defeated Myasnik Sargsyan (Armenia) RSCO 3
- Defeated Emil Krastev (Bulgaria) 29–8
- Beaten by Ramazan MagomedovRamazan MagomedovRamazan Magomedov whose second name is also sometimes spelt Magamedau is a Belarusian amateur boxer who qualified for the 2008 Olympics at light-heavyweight.The elusive Magomedov lost to Tony Jeffries at the 2007 World Championships....
(Belarus) 17–13
European Olympic Qualifications – Athens, Greece
- Defeated Alessandro Sinacore (Italy) 23–14
- Defeated Daniel Kooij (Holland) 13–4
- Defeated Gottlieb Weiss (Germany) 21–11
- Defeated Kennedy KatendeKennedy KatendeKennedy Katende is a Swedish amateur boxer from Sundsvall who qualified for the 2008 Olympics in the light-heavyweight division....
(Sweden) 15–10
2008 Olympic Results
- Defeated Julius JacksonJulius JacksonJulius Jackson is an amateur boxer from the Virgin Islands who qualified for he 2008 Olympics at light-heavyweight just like his brother John Jackson...
(Virgin Islands) 22–2 - Defeated Bahram MuzafferBahram MuzafferBahram Muzaffer is a Turkish amateur boxer competing in the heavyweight division.He qualified for the 2008 Olympics at light-heavyweight after he was re-allocated the position vacated by Ismayl Sillakh. At the Olympics, Muzaffer beat Aziz Ali but lost in the round of 16 to Ireland's runner-up...
(Turkey) 10–2 - Defeated Washington Silva (Brazil) 8–0
- Defeated Tony JeffriesTony JeffriesTony David Jeffries is an English professional boxer who won a bronze medal in the 2008 Summer Olympics...
(Great Britain) 10–3 - Beaten by Xiaoping Zhang (China) 11–7
Tributes
Following the final PresidentPresident
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
Mary McAleese
Mary McAleese
Mary Patricia McAleese served as the eighth President of Ireland from 1997 to 2011. She was the second female president and was first elected in 1997 succeeding Mary Robinson, making McAleese the world's first woman to succeed another as president. She was re-elected unopposed for a second term in...
and Taoiseach
Taoiseach
The Taoiseach is the head of government or prime minister of Ireland. The Taoiseach is appointed by the President upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas , and must, in order to remain in office, retain the support of a majority in the Dáil.The current Taoiseach is...
Brian Cowen
Brian Cowen
Brian Cowen is a former Irish politician who served as Taoiseach of Ireland from 7 May 2008 to 9 March 2011. He was head of a coalition government led by Fianna Fáil which until 23 January 2011 had the support of the Green Party and independent TDs.Cowen was also leader of Fianna Fáil from 7 May...
gave Egan some glowing tributes.
"I am delighted to learn of Kenny's wonderful accomplishment today in Beijing," the President said. "The people of Ireland are uplifted by this outstanding achievement which continues a tradition of Irish Olympic boxing excellence dating back to 1952.""
Cowen echoed these remarks by saying "Kenny fought a brave fight and gave everything in a wonderful bout of top class boxing"Glowing Tributes
Final Controversy
At the end of the third round in the gold medal contest between Egan andXiaoping, the judges failed to score several punches landed by Egan that would
have given him the lead. NBC announcers concurred on this point.
The scoring system throughout the Olympics had been the topic of many debates, not only in this bout, but throughout many of the games. Reuters, Monday August 25 2008. Irish bookmaker, Paddy Power
Paddy Power
Paddy Power is Ireland’s largest bookmaker. Offline it conducts business through a chain of licensed betting offices and by operating Ireland's largest telephone betting service. Online it offers sports betting, online poker, online bingo, online casino games and spread betting...
, paid out all bets on Egan to win the Gold, despite this not being the actual result.
Post Olympics
Kenny returned home from the olympics with the rest of the olympic team at Dublin AirportDublin Airport
Dublin Airport, , is operated by the Dublin Airport Authority. Located in Collinstown, in the Fingal part of County Dublin, 18.4 million passengers passed through the airport in 2010, making it the busiest airport in the Republic of Ireland, followed by Cork and Shannon...
and went back to Clondalkin to a heroes welcome. Since the Olympics, he has become a popular figure in Ireland and has appeared on TV chat shows and advertisements, and has been a part of the celebrity scene in Ireland. In November 2008 he released a DVD titled "Kenny Egan – Back from Beijing" which chronicles his journey to the silver medal in Beijing.
On Friday the 28th February 2009 he was scheduled to fight at the national stadium in a match against the USA, but he failed to turn up for the fight and appeared to have left the country, with more reports of him having left the country due to messages left on social networking site twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
. On Tuesday the 3rd of March it was reported that he was in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and would return in a couple of days. He released a statement apologising to his team mates for the non-show against the USA and for disappearing to New York. He also pulled out of the undercard programme of Bernard Dunnes's
Bernard Dunne
Bernard Dunne is a retired Irish professional boxer and a former WBA, and European super bantamweight champion.On Saturday 21 March 2009, Dunne waged the war that he would be best remembered for and defeated Ricardo Cordoba in the 11th round to become the WBA super bantamweight champion in a fight...
World Title Fight Night at The O2 arena Dublin on Saturday 21 March, admitting that he would not be ready for it.
On 17 July 2009, Egan was back in action at the National Stadium where he outpointed Crumlin light middleweight Darren Cruise, who retired at the start of round three when Egan was in the lead 16–2, in the Open Senior Light Heavyweight final.
On August 1, 2009, Egan lost a match to Sweden's Babacar Kamara.
He won the bronze medal at the 2010 European Amateur Boxing Championships
2010 European Amateur Boxing Championships
The Men's 2010 European Amateur Boxing Championships was held in Moscow, Russia from June 4 to June 13, 2010. It was the 38th edition of this biennial competition organised by the European governing body for amateur boxing, EUBC.- Medal winners:...
at Moscow, Russia after he lost to Abdelkader Bouhenia
Abdelkader Bouhenia
Abdelkader Bouhenia is a boxer from Carcassonne. He is best known for having won the Bronze medal in the light-heavyweight division at the 2009 World Amateur Boxing Championships in Milan....
from France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in the Semifinals.
In January 2011, Egan publicly said he suffers from a drink problem and now attends regular Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.'I was drinking too much. I was in a bad place. I was drinking too much. Ever since I got back from the games I just went mad on it and didn't stop' he said.