BOXING:OLYMPIC SILVER medallist, John Joe Nevin, expects to have his first professional fight on January 19th in the MEN Arena in Manchester.
The 23-year-old bantamweight from Mullingar, who has signed professional papers with Amir Khan’s fledgling company Super Fight Promotions has officially turned his back on the chance to go a step further and win a gold medal at the Rio Games.
Speaking on RTÉ television on Saturday night Nevin, who throughout his amateur career had always aspired to one day winning a professional world title, said that at 27 years old he would be too old to successfully switch codes after the Rio Olympics.
“This was a really tough decision for me as I have trained with the High Performance team for many years and we are a tight family unit,” said Nevin. “I have enjoyed my time with the Irish team and am extremely proud of what we have achieved to date.
“I would like to win a world title and this is the route I need to take. I am excited for the future and looking forward to continuing my relationship with my trainer and working with Khan Promotions.”
It’s an interesting decision for Nevin as Khan, who is still an active boxer, has no history of being a promoter and makes the Irishman’s decision something of a punt. Nevin explained that he chose Khan because the Bolton born Olympic silver medallist and former professional world champion understands the boxing end of the profession.
One of the brightest boxing talents of the Games, Nevin also knows something of the professional life from his stints in the World Series of Boxing (WSB), a professional spin off from amateur boxing, where fighters are permitted to box. He fought for the European based team Paris United. He is only the second fighter to turn professional with Khan’s team, the first being Khan’s brother Haroon.
“When I saw John Joe Nevin at the Olympics he really impressed me and I knew right away he was a real talent,” said Khan. “He’s slick, moves well and has a lot of attributes that I know will take him very far as a professional. I’m extremely pleased that we have managed to bring him to Super Fight Promotions because he’s exactly the type of young, exciting and gifted talent we want under our banner. We have high hopes for him.”
