A blast from the past

In fact, Kenny Egan not only beat me in the semi-finals of the Beijing Games - meaning I had to settle for a bronze - he also defeated me in my last fight before the Olympics.

Fortunately, though, he's a good bloke and there were no hard feelings when I bumped into him at Sheffield.

I was at the English Institute for Sport for training and the Irish boxing team were also there. When I went into the canteen, Kenny was sat at one of the tables.

It was a bit weird at first but we've been at plenty of competitions down the years and he's a genuinely nice lad so it wasn't a problem and I went over to have a chat with him.

Up until this year I'd never actually fought Kenny but this summer he beat me in the final of the EU Championships in Poland, when I was struggling with injury, and in China.

I came across Kenny a few times in Beijing before we met in the ring and we'd wish each other luck for our respective fights.

Boxing's like a lot of sports - you might be trying to beat each other up once the bell goes, but outside of the ring most of us are good friends.

Kenny told me his life had been really hectic since the Olympics.

Loads of people in Sunderland seem to know who I am after Beijing and I only won a bronze medal.

Kenny got a silver and now everyone in Ireland seems to know who he is. He told me he was finding it hard to get back into the game and I know how he feels.

Neither of us are back sparring condition and when you've had the high of the Olympics it's hard to motivate yourself for the routine training sessions, particularly when you don't have a fight to aim for.

I've looked at the schedule coming up for the British amateur team and there are some exciting trips coming up, some to places I've never been to before.

But of course there's also the option of turning professional, which is something Kenny's considering too.

It's nine weeks now since the Olympics and I think people were expecting a rush of successful Olympic boxers turning pro straight after the Games but that just hasn't happened.

The thing is, turning pro isn't a quick process. You've got to get it right because once you sign that bit of paper you can't unsign it.

Everyone wants to make sure they're signed up with the right promoter and the right trainer if they're going to commit to the professional ranks and for us Brits there's the added complication that the 2012 Games will be in London. That's a massive attraction.