Reports in Ireland suggested the 24-year-old was attacked due to a feud over a woman, but Nevin has dismissed the reports claiming he was attacked out of jealousy.

Nevin, a silver medallist in the bantamweight division at London 2012, was attacked on April 5 in his home town of Mullingar, County Westmeath, leaving him with two broken legs and putting his fledgling professional career on hold.

"These rumours are complete nonsense - that's all I'm saying," Nevin told the Irish Sun on Sunday, claiming he has been receiving threats on his mobile phone and via social media in recent weeks.

"I don't know why these people are saying these things.

"I was attacked out of jealousy - there's no other reason.

"They have just made up stories.

"A guilty person will always try to get themselves out of it - I was hospitalised and I am the injured party in this case."

Following the incident, Nevin was rushed to Mullingar General Hospital before being transferred to nearby Tullamore General Hospital, where he underwent an operation on his injured leg at the facility's specialised orthopaedic unit.

It was initially announced that he had suffered a double fracture in his right leg but it has now been confirmed the boxer's left leg has also been broken just above his ankle, which will rule him out of a return to the ring for at least six months.

The attack on Nevin occurred on the Ardleigh estate in Mullingar in what has been described as "an extended family dispute".

The boxer's trainer, Brian McKeown claimed he had been trying to mediate in a family dispute and it is believed Nevin and his brother Paddy had gone to a cousin's house nearby to sort out a rift between him and his father, Nevin's uncle.

According to reports in the Sunday World, the confrontation escalated into violence with Nevin being attacked with one of his own golf clubs and it was he who was the aggressor.

Nevin and his camp have rejected these claims however, insisting suggestions he was seeking an altercation were "100 per cent false".

After winning silver at London 2012 Ireland's John Joe Nevin embarked on a career in the professional ranks last month ©AFP/Getty Images



Speaking to the Sunday Independent, Nevin claims he and his brother were merely out to place some bets at a local bookmakers, and that he is struggling to come to terms with the viciousness of the attack.

"I just can't get my head around it to be honest," said Nevin, who also revealed that his aunt died two days after the incident, following a battle with cancer.

"One minute I'm driving with my brother to have a bet on a Saturday and an hour later I end up in Mullingar hospital with my two legs broken.

"It's like my life came crashing down on me in the last week - my aunt going and now this."

Nevin made his debut in the professional ranks last month when he defeated Puerto Rico's Alberto Candelaria in Boston on St Patrick's Day (March 17) and his US-based management team had lined up a number of fights before the end of August, including a bout in Atlantic City later this month.

Those will now be put on hold until his recovery is complete, with doubts he will fight again before the end of the year.

The boxer's management also stated this week that they hope he will travel to the United States in July to start on an intensive physical recovery programme and Nevin has declared that he will return to the ring better than ever.

"It's a major setback for me," he said.

"[But] I'll come back bigger and stronger and I'll have the last laugh."

Following the attack, Irish police arrested two men in connection with the incident but they have subsequently been released without charge.

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