KELLIE: I'M DEVASTATED LEGEND ZAUR IS LEAVING

KELLIE Harrington says she's "devastated" with the news that coaching legend Zaur Anita has announced his retirement from Irish boxing.

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The double Olympic gold medallist was paying tribute to Anita after the Georgian decided to step down from his role as head coach of the IABA’s high performance unit.

Harrington told RTE last night: “I'm actually devastated that he's leaving because you don't realise what you had until it's gone.

“Zaur has had a very big impact on my career, I was away with him before I even won a medal. But in 2016 I got a world medal and started to be involved in high performance.

“The impact he has had has been colossal in helping me grow and be better. He understands me as a person and it was a really great relationship as to how we worked together." Anita has been involved in Irish boxing for 23 years and feels the time is right to retire from what has been an amazingly successful spell for the sport here.

The 63-year-old won six National titles in his native country and a Soviet Union bronze medal as a fighter himself before moving into coaching.