Quebec boxer Simon Kean decided to hang up his gloves and announced his retirement from competition on Tuesday.
The Trois-Rivières resident made the announcement in a text on Radio-Canada's website and then confirmed it in a press release from Eye of the Tiger Management.
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“I competed in the Olympics and won professionally 23 times. “I am proud of my journey, but also of the way this sport has changed me,” wrote the 35-year-old athlete.
The Canadian heavyweight qualified for the 2012 London Olympics. He reached the second round of the prestigious competition. Three years later he made the jump to the pros and maintained a record of 23-2-0 (22 KOs).
A defeat that closes the door
Kean lost his last fight by knockout. against Joseph Parker on October 28 in Saudi Arabia.
“This defeat closed the door to further lucrative international duels. “You have to know how to stop at the right moment,” Kean said in his letter.
“When I entered the arena, I was shaking from head to toe.”
“Few fighters say it, but everyone is full of fear when the referee gives his instructions. Boxing is a huge stress reliever. It may sound strange to you, but that is exactly what I will miss the most. This sport is a special universe that has allowed me to grow and, above all, to become a better person.
Kean specifically spoke about his turbulent behavior as a child, the death of his father, lack of funding from Boxing Canada, injuries and his connection to Eye of the Tiger Management.
The “Grizzly”, considered a promising prospect among heavyweights, experienced a new turn in his career after his loss to Dillon Carman at the Videotron Center in 2018.
“I underestimated him,” admitted Kean. It was my first career defeat. I lost my championship belt and dropped significantly in the world rankings. Several boxing fans started saying bad things about me. I became their scapegoat, even though I, in turn, defeated Carman by knockout. a few months later in Shawinigan.”
Really ready?
Kean is now entering the construction industry and will start his own company in the spring. However, he allows himself to dream of returning to the ring for a fight with a “local flavor.”
“I will closely follow the continuity of the careers of the fearsome Arslanbek Makhmudov and Alexis Barrière, two outstanding heavyweights who I would have loved to have faced.”
“I'm hanging up my gloves, but I won't put them away too far because the fighting instinct still drives me.”
“If I have to return to competition one day, it will be to face one of them in an excellent fight with a local flavor. I want to show them who the king of the mountain is.”