OLYMPIC silver medallist Fred Evans has dismissed suggestions that he doesn’t train hard enough and defended his decision to remain as an amateur.
Evans was blasted by former trainer Tony Borg last week for what he perceived as a lack of hard work in the gym.
“He said he wanted to turn pro but he doesn’t train hard enough for the pros,” Borg told the Argus.
“He’s the most talented boxer in the country in my view. He’s got all the ability in the world but at the moment he's not putting in the hard work in training.”
But the 22-year-old, who won silver in the welterweight division at London 2012, was angered by those claims and revealed that he has now left Borg’s St Joseph’s gym in Newport, where he has trained since he was a kid.
“I don’t agree with what Tony said about me,” said Evans, who is now back training with the Great Britain squad in Sheffield.
“I train three-times a day, four times a week in Sheffield and it is the best coaching around with Richie Woodhall and Rob McCracken.
“I’ve just got back from Germany and now I’m off to Kazakhstan so nobody can say I’m not working hard enough.
“I’ve not been to St Joes for months,” he added. “I’ve only been a few times since the Olympics and I felt like I needed a change.
“I’m sorting out a new trainer for when I’m away from Sheffield but I’m not ready to say where that will be yet.”
Evans announced in April this year that he had decided to join the professional ranks, arguing that he had achieved everything he could as an amateur.
“The next Olympics is a long way off and I’d still need to qualify for it so I could wait for a year and not qualify and I’d be wasting a lot of valuable time,” he told the Argus at the time.
“I’ve been through it all as an amateur and there’s nothing new to aim for now. It’s a new chapter as a professional and I’m looking forward to it.”
But he has since done a U-turn on that decision and will take part in the new AIBA Pro Boxing event.
“I did have offers to go pro but with APB it is more lucrative for me to compete in that and I’m still eligible for the Olympics as well.
“Seven out of the 12 boxers in APB have qualified for Rio so it will be tough and I’m still only 22 so time is on my side.”
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