Amy Broadhurst is doing two jobs at once, and she is not asking for your sympathy about it.
The European Elite Boxing Championships kick off in Sofia, Bulgaria on Thursday, and GB are sending a strong squad, several of them Commonwealth Games gold medallists. Broadhurst is among them, and her presence alone makes this team worth watching. A former World and European gold medallist for Ireland, now boxing for Britain, returning to major competition after having a baby boy, and staring down what she openly calls her last shot at the Olympics. There is more riding on this trip to Bulgaria than a bit of silverware.
Closing Chapters, Opening New Ones
Broadhurst switched from Ireland to Britain ahead of Paris 2024 with Olympic qualification in mind. Her route into the GB setup came partly through her time as a sparring partner to Katie Taylor, work that contributed directly to Taylor's first iconic win over Amanda Serrano. That is the kind of pedigree you bring into a new camp.
These European Championships are her first major tournament since returning from maternity leave, and she has been honest about how demanding that looks day to day. Her son travels to Bulgaria with her, and joins her in Sheffield every other week during training camps. "Those weeks are tough because you're doing two jobs then," she told Sky Sports. She is not complaining. She is explaining. There is a difference, and it matters.
She also got handed one of the more uncomfortable first-fight-back scenarios you could imagine. Her comeback bout, after two years out, was against Ireland. The country she used to represent. The team she left.
"My first fight back after two years was against Ireland. So that was a mad situation," she said. Her approach was exactly right: do not get dragged into the emotion, get in the ring, box, and move on. "It was like closing the chapter on something." That is someone who has their head screwed on properly.
The Harrington Question
Sofia could raise the temperature again. Kellie Harrington, Ireland's two-time Olympic champion, has entered these Europeans. Broadhurst knows her well. She was Harrington's sparring partner ahead of the Tokyo Games. They have shared the ring plenty of times.
If the draw throws them together, it would be genuinely compelling. Broadhurst was careful not to hype it beyond what it is: "You could meet each other. You just don't know what's going to happen." That kind of calm is either confidence or very good self-control. Probably both.
[Caroline Dubois](/uprise/boxing/dubois-expects-undisputed-fight-with-jealous-baumgardner) is another fighter on GB's radar right now, and like Broadhurst she is someone who does not wait for the game to come to her. There is a pattern forming in British women's boxing of athletes who set their own terms.
Our Take
Broadhurst has framed this whole Olympic push plainly: LA 2028 is the destination, and these Europeans are a step on that road. "This is my last shot at the Olympics," she said. "So they know after this it's all said and done."
That kind of clarity is rare. No hedging, no PR-friendly ambiguity. She knows what this is, and she is getting on with it, baby in tow. Back her to do the same in Sofia.