Kellie Harrington has opened up on her relationship with Katie Taylor's father Pete.
Pete Taylor formerly was involved in the Irish boxing set up, having been in the corner for his daughter Katie's Olympic gold medal run in 2012. And Harrington has opened up on her own relationship with Pete Taylor, saying she never won a fight with him in her corner, elaborating on comments made about the boxing coach in her new book.
Harrington claims that Taylor would not let his daughter spar with other female fighters when she was in amateur ranks and believes the IABA were looking after just Katie Taylor as opposed to all the female fighters.
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She said in her book: “I could have learnt so much training with Michael Conlan and Paddy Barnes and Kenny Egan, and Katie Taylor. But it just wasn’t happening, and that made it really hard. Katie didn’t spar with females; Pete didn’t want her sparring with them. I asked for it, but it never happened.
"The general attitude of the IABA towards women’s boxing really annoyed me. Women weren’t being looked after; just one woman — Katie — was. And the IABA were letting this happen. The women weren’t getting the opportunity to train with the best, and they weren’t being sent to the multi-nations training camps and tournaments that the men were being sent to."
Speaking at her book launch in conversation with Second Captains, Harrington said: "I never won a fight with him in my corner. The first time I ever went away without him in my corner I won a silver medal in the World Championships."
But Harrington insists that there is no bad blood between her and Katie Taylor. Asked if it made things awkward between the pair, she said: "I don't think it did anyway. That's exactly what it was and end the end of the day she never done anything on me.
"She was my role model when I first started but how can that not leave a bit of sour taste in your mouth. But then you get older and you realise it's just him.
"She's absolutely fantastic, she's a lady and is lovely and what she's done is fantastic. They are two different people."
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