Olympic hero John Joe Nevin has vowed to return to boxing, despite suffering serious injuries in an assault at the weekend.
Nevin was targeted in the Ardleagh estate in Mullingar on Saturday morning and received a vicious beating, in which he sustained two fractures to his right leg. While speculation had mounted that the 24-year-old's injuries could spell the end of his promising career, Nevin told
The Sun that he fully intends to return to the ring, having signed a professional contract in recent months.
It had also been reported that incident could be the result of a Traveller feud but it is understood that this theory has now been been abandoned, with Nevin putting the assault down to "jealousy".
“I never once thought something like this was going to happen. I think my attacker knew what he was doing," he said.
"This attack won’t beat me and I will come back even stronger and more determined to realise my dreams.”
Nevin also described the horror of the beating, revealing that he faces three months in plaster and follow-up treatment in the States.
“My leg is like jelly — I will never forget the bone breaking from my skin. As soon as I was hit with the golf club, I fell to the ground because my leg was like rubber. I couldn’t stand," said the silver-medallist.
“This was a cowardly act and I also remember seeing a stick with a knife attached to it. It was like there was no bone in my leg and I was trying to push it back in when I was on the ground.”
A man was arrested in connection with the incident but he has since been released without charge.
