Richardson still 'navigating path' to pro ranks

Richardson still ‘navigating path’ to pro ranks

Olympic bronze medallist Lewis Richardson will not be rushed into finalising his plans for a professional career.

The 27-year-old from Colchester reached the light-middleweight semi-finals in Paris, but lost a split decision to Mexico’s Marco Verde.

But he returned home as Team GB’s sole boxing medallist, having previously won a middleweight silver at the European Championships and bronze at the Commonwealth Games, both in 2022.

“I’ve had meetings with promoters and managers and new trainers and we’re just negotiating at the moment. I need a little bit of time to navigate my path,” Richardson told BBC Essex.

“The beauty of GB boxing is you’re one big team and they look after you, you’re almost employed by them. We’ve got a little bit of security there.

“With the professional side, it’s almost like going self employed – 100% it’s a business and you need to build the right team around you.”

Richardson has been busy with community work and personal appearances since his success at the summer Games.

And although he normally prefers to move on from one goal to the next, he is not yet ready to turn the page on his Olympic dream.

“Boxing’s very unique. I’ve got massive respect for all sports but boxing in particular, you train physically to be in the best shape you can be and at elite level we’re all really fit and strong, but what separates you in the boxing ring is that mental edge,” he added.

“Being able to control yourself while someone is trying to knock you out, it sounds brutal but it’s beautifully brutal, in my opinion, because there’s a real art to it, it’s like a physical game of chess. Over the last year, I’ve really cracked that.”

Richardson hopes to be in a position to make his professional debut early in 2025, but if it doesn’t happen, he could yet prolong his amateur career.

“If it doesn’t make sense from a business perspective, or I struggle to find that team and build that team around me, there’s still an opportunity for me to stay on the Olympic route,” he said.

“I’m 27 so I’ve got time to go to another Olympics. I’m not young, but I’m not old but if I want to go down the professional route, I need to probably get things moving with that sooner rather than later because I’ll have aspirations to become a world champion.”

Lewis Richardson was speaking to BBC Essex’s Sonia Watson