Harry Garside’s world turned upside down, leaving boxing career up in the air

Harry Garside’s world has been turned upside down and his boxing career is hanging by a thread as he faces assault charges.

Harry Garside of Team Australia celebrates with his bronze medal during the victory ceremony for the Men's Light (57-63kg) Final on day sixteen of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic games at Kokugikan Arena on August 08, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Buda Mendes/Getty Images)

Harry Garside’s boxing career is at a crossroads and his future is up in the air after he was arrested and charged with assault earlier this week.

The boxer was met by police at Sydney Airport after flying back from South Africa following his runner-up finish on I’m a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here.

Garside was released on bail after being charged with common assault and will face court in Sydney later this month over an alleged incident with his ex-girlfriend Ash Ruscoe at her Bondi apartment in March.

Garside has denied the allegations and said in a statement he will plans to defend the charge.

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The 25-year-old made his name as an amateur boxer by winning gold at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and bronze at the Tokyo Olympics.

He won his first three professional fights but split with legendary Johnny Lewis earlier this year over his decision to on I’m a Celebrity instead of fighting a bout.

Harry Garside was charged with assault. Picture: Jonathan Ng

The boxer appeared on I’m a Celebrity. Photo: Channel 10.

He is also facing a legal battle over comments he made about his boxing manager on I’m a Celebrity.

Garside said he felt like he was made to turn professional because the team around him saw him as a “cash cow”.

“I hated turning professional, just people around me who wanted me because I was a potential cash cow,” he said.

Garside has returned to amateur boxing and recently contested several fights in Europe in his return to the ring, and it now appears he is considering fighting as an amateur at next year’s Paris Olympics.

Garside has recently posted several photos of himself at the Tokyo Olympics with captions including “I have unfinished business” and “Time to focus on changing the colour” — a reference to wanting to improve on his Olympic bronze medal.

Professional boxers are not allowed to compete at Olympic Games, suggesting Garside has now committed to returning to the amateurs.

The lightweight fighter told news.com.au in April he was considering three different options for his future, including walking away from boxing altogether.

“One, stay professional [in boxing] and turn away from my heart, but potentially set my family up for life with money,” he began.

“Option two, try go to the Olympics next year, try and win a gold medal and honour myself, honour my country, honour my heart, and honour my pride – but have no money.

“Or option three, walk away from boxing altogether and focus my energy on something else.

“I‘m sitting on a bit of a lottery ticket right now, where I realistically could cash in on my boxing career. There’s a big potential that I could make a lot of money. So there, of course, is that pressure.

“I want to set my family up and I want to buy my mum and dad a house. And I want my kids to eat well. Of course I want that.”“But is it to the detriment of (my) happiness? That’s the dilemma.”

Amateur boxing is a far less lucrative option than fighting professionally on televised fights promoted by No Limit, but it may well be the path where Garside finds more success.

Harry Garside wants to turn Olympic bronze into Olympic gold. (Photo by Buda Mendes/Getty Images)

The pull away from the boxing ring appears strong for Garside, who has built up a loyal following on social media for not being afraid to challenge gender stereotypes.

Garside, who was nominated for the 2022 GQ Men of the Year Awards, isn’t afraid to step out into the limelight in a skirt or walk down the runway of a fashion show.

He told news.com.au last year: “I genuinely believe that as a society we should be supporting individuality and uniqueness and the herd supporting that rather than the herd supporting people who feel they need to conform and be like everyone else.”

“There is just some super negative trolls that hang around, but then there’s also the ones who genuinely ask me questions around ‘what impact are you having on young people’. I mean here I am wearing a skirt and am I confusing young people?”

Garside’s public profile skyrocketed after the Tokyo Olympics as he racked up the endorsements and public appearances.

The reality now is Garside is more known for what he does outside of the ring than his boxing career itself.

Only time will tell if that changes.