HBA standing behind banned Metcalfe
BOXING coaches Paul and Patrick Hyland are standing behind their fighter Evan Metcalfe who was stripped of his National Elite Bantamweight Championship title and banned for four months after testing positive for carboxy-THC, a by-product of cannabis.
The Crumlin man admitted to smoking what he believed to be a cigarette at a party the week of his championship final against Thomas McCarthy in February.
Evan Metcalfe still has the backing of his team at Hyland Boxing Academy
With the ban having been backdated to April 19, Metcalfe will be eligible to return to training within the coming fortnight.
Speaking about the ban, Hyland Boxing Academy’s Paul Hyland told The Echo, “He [Evan] has no problem with the ban. What he’s appealing is the stripping of the title.
“He’s an honest kid who has made a mistake. He opened up to everything on it and is taking his punishment on the chin.
“We’re 100 percent behind him as long as he puts in the training and doesn’t do anything like this again which he’s assured us he won’t.
“We pointed out to him that he’s a National Elite boxer and that he is a role model for the kids at our club so he has to be mindful about how he behaves.
“We hope to have him back in the gym in the next seven to 10 days and, as far as we’re concerned, he’ll be winning that title again in November.
“He worked hard to win that title and he’ll do it again,” he insisted.
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