‘Best kind of love’: Garside’s next move after shock Olympics loss

Olympic boxer Harry Garside has revealed his unexpected new romance, which he called “the best kind of love”, as he takes stock following his shock loss at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

The 27-year-old made a triumphant comeback to the sport after being cleared of allegations of domestic violence last year but was knocked out in the first round of the Paris Games.

While unexpected, Garside’s losing bout to Hungary’s Richard Kovacs made headlines following an earnest and sombre post-match interview in which Garside admitted he “felt like a failure”.

Speaking on Nova 96.9 on Tuesday, Garside described how his “20-year journey was over in nine minutes” but revealed he had since fallen in love having moved to Sydney’s Bondi Beach.

“I had this weird ambition that maybe I could walk with giants and I guess on that 20-year journey, I finally got to a destination where I believed I can,” Garside said.

“So, it’s a nice journey, nice evolution. I guess the biggest thing I took from it is set big, audacious goals … but on the journey, you end up feeling like you can achieve them.”

Asked about his new romance, Garside said he woke up on New Year’s Day 2024 and said to himself “big year … no relationships … just focus on winning the gold medal”.

“Throughout that process I actually fell in love … so it happened so unexpectedly which I think is the best kind of love … when you’re not searching for it but it just stumbled into my life,” he said.

“She’s originally from Sydney, but she is currently living in London, so I am pretty excited for her to get back at the end of the year … she’s definitely worth the wait.”

As for his future with boxing, Garside was less sure, telling hosts Ryan Fitzgerald, Michael Wipfli and Kate Richie he had potentially “grown up” since past losses.

Olympics: Aussie boxer Harry Garside has opened up on his shock loss after crashing out of the tournament to Hungarian Richard Kovacs.

“If this happened five years ago, when I was a little bit younger, and my whole identity was consumed with that of only being a boxer … just to think what some of the decisions that I made when I did fail, and how low I felt, and what I was doing in private to sort of hurt myself. It was kind of scary,” he said.

“But, I guess, I don’t know if it’s growth, I don’t know if it’s maturity, maybe a cocktail of everything, but it hasn’t happened this time, and I don’t know if I’m waiting for it.”

Asked about his future in the sport, Garside added: “I am just trying to keep fit … The decisions I made when I failed were negative, and I’m just trying my best to do more positive things.

“So, I’m training every day. I’m staying fit. I want to do some triathlons over summer. I love boxing, so I’ll always continue on boxing, not sure professional, next Olympics, not sure to walk away altogether. But I always love doing it, so I’ll continue doing it until I lose the love for it.”