John Kavanagh has paid tribute to Crumlin Boxing Club coach Phil Sutcliffe, describing him as a 'stand out mentor'.
Sutcliffe was in Conor McGregor's corner for his January win over Donald Cerrone and has been helping the former two-weight champion prepare for his upcoming bout with Dustin Poirier.
Kavanagh singled out the boxing coach for praise recently, posting on Instagram: "One of the benefits of being Conor’s coach is that he’s given me the chance to be around and learn directly from some of the world’s top coaches in their respective fields.
"Whether it's been Ido Portal , George Lockhart,Tony Robbins or Julian Dalby I feel I’ve achieved a much greater understanding of taking a complete holistic approach to coaching. The ying and the yang, energy management and understanding of motivation cycles etc.
"One such stand out mentor would be @philipsutcliffesnr . National champion, 2 time european medalist plus two-time Olympian just to list some of his achievements as an athlete.
"However it's his decades of working as an elite coach that really stand out to me.
"To have brought multiple generations through their entire athletic career from 7-8yr old starting off up to World Champion has given him some experience and insights that cannot even begin to be shared here.
"Put simply he’s forgotten more than I’ll ever know.
"Everyday is a school day during a champchamp camp!"
