Billy Walsh can’t wait to take on his old sparring partner Zaur Antia in a medal showdown tomorrow.
And he turned up the heat ahead of Lisburn boxer Kurt Walker’s semi-final bid by insisting: “Kurt’s in the number one position now.”
Walsh, USA Boxing’s head coach, guided Ireland to seven Olympic medals in that glorious two-Games era of Beijing 2008 and London 2012.
The States went home from London with no ring medals and headhunted Walsh to take his winning formula across the Atlantic.
He remains their guru and, having once worked in tandem with Antia, they are plotting against each other as Walker faces Duke Ragan in the featherweight quarter-finals.
“It will be a great fight, we’ve got two of the best fighters in the world right now and they’ve made that point here,” said 58-year-old Walsh.
“There’ll be a bit of pressure and the stakes are higher but both of them have done fantastic. They’ve beaten people they shouldn’t have beaten on the way here, they both have two wins under their belt and beaten guys who were medallists in their own continent.
“It’s really going to be exciting. I’ve known Kurt since he was a kid and he has come right through the performance programme in Ireland. He’s an exceptional talent and we’re really looking forward to the challenge.
“He’s beaten the number one seed and, for me and plenty of other people, that puts him in the number one position now. So it will be a tough battle for us but we hope that the best man wins and we’ll shake hands and still be friends.”
Ragan, 23, is a world silver medalist and joined Top Rank’s pro roster last year.
No doubt he is a danger for Walker, who is buoyant after beating the Uzbek world champ Mirazizbek Mirzakhalilov.
“Duke has come back to us from being professional for the last year and a half or so and he’s got a very good speed, he’s got power for the weight division and he’s got awareness,” said Wexford man Walsh.
“He’s been boxing all his life, boxing has been his life so he has a good tactical brain as well. I’m excited to see it because they’ve got two contrasting styles.
“Kurt boxes in the classical style, Duke has more of that American style, close distance and all that, so it’s going to be interesting tactics between myself and Zaur, we know each other so well and I’m really looking forward to it.
“This is my sixth Olympic Games but obviously they’re different from any final I’ve ever been to and the years leading into it have been extremely tough for everybody.
“It has made the team more resilient.”
