B arry McGuigan was forged in Ireland during the height of The Troubles but became the rare beacon of unity for a broken country in the 1980s. The popular featherweight managed to build a hugely passionate fan base on both sides of a sectarian divide that often ignited in deadly violence. While some may have doubted how far he could go as a boxer, those cynics were quieted by an impressive performance against former titleholder Juan Laporte, whom McGuigan outpointed over 10 rounds in 1985. “It was a tremendous fight,” McGuigan told The Ring. “[Laporte] was very honest [afterward]. He said, ‘You’re going to go all the way.’ That was lovely and really encouraging for me. It was just reinforcing what I believed anyway.” Four months later, in a
“We had a big old Victorian house with the kitchen out the back, [the family grocery store] was out the front, and we lived above the shop. At the back of the house, that was the living room, and we’d watch TV or bring people in, and it was that room [where] I first saw the gloves and tried them on. “I was fascinated by them. They were like an orangey red color, old Everlast gloves. It was getting the smell of them, putting them on your hands. I knew almost instantly I wanted to be a boxer. My brother Dermot and I ended up beating the living daylights out of each other. “Then I got my father to get me a punch bag, and we punched the bag with the gloves. And at the end of it, Johnny McCarthy said, ‘You hold on to them,’ ’cause they changed
shape because I’d used them so much. And that was my introduction to boxing.” MY FIRST AMATEUR FIGHT “I remember the fight, but I can’t remember the opponent. It was down in the Luxor Cinema in Clones. “You all turned up, all the various different clubs. You measure one guy against the other – there was no scales. You’d look at them, you’d put them back-to-back and say, ‘How many fights have you had?’ And you’d say I’ve had one, half a dozen, 20 or whatever. They used to say, ‘My guy’s only had one
My First Time: Barry McGuigan As told to Anson Wainwright
performance preceded by his father’s stirring rendition of “Danny Boy” in the ring, McGuigan realized his dream of becoming world champion by beating long-reigning Ring Magazine and WBA featherweight ruler Eusebio Pedroza by unanimous decision. The 15-round fight took place in front of 26,000 raucous fans at Loftus Road Stadium in London and was seen by 18.6 million viewers on BBC. “They didn’t take into account all the guys in Ireland who didn’t pay for the BBC who could still pick it up
anyway,” he quipped, laughing. “I reckon there was more like 20 million. It was the most watched event that year on the BBC, and I won the Sports Personality of the Year.” McGuigan lost his title to Steve Cruz in his third defense and only fought four more times, but he remained an icon to his countrymen. After his in-ring career, he became a commentator before dabbling in promoting, and he is still involved in the sport with his son Shane, who is a world- class trainer. THE FIRST TIME I LACED UP GLOVES “I remember it very well. My father was a professional singer; he represented Ireland in the [1968] Eurovision Song Contest [finishing fourth]. He had a phenomenal voice. My father was very friendly with a saxophone and trumpet player called Johnny McCarthy. Johnny was into boxing. Dad was into boxing, he did a load of training and had one or two fights way back in the late ’40s, early ’50s. Johnny brought up two pairs of Everlast boxing gloves, and that was the first time I saw them. That would have been the summer of 1972. I was 12 years old.
contest, so you’re too experienced.’ I was measured up against a guy, and he had six or seven fights. They said, ‘He’s too experienced for you. The problem is there’s nobody else.’ But I didn’t want to miss the opportunity, so I said, ‘I’ll fight him.’ “I felt nervous, but with anticipation. I didn’t really care about getting hurt; I wanted to have a fight. The amount of preparation was zero, but I was always fit and I used to run everywhere, so I was naturally fit and strong. I had a lot of upper-body strength. I knew that night when I fought this guy, he had half a dozen fights, but I was physically stronger than him. And I took it to him and I dominated and overwhelmed him. My technique was not great; it was like a free-for-all for three rounds. I think he got a standing count in the last round, and I won by unanimous decision. I ran home to show my medal to everyone. My dad was [on the road], so he couldn’t see the fight.” MY FIRST PROFESSIONAL FIGHT May 10, 1981 • Opponent: Selvin Bell “I knew I was more suited to the pro game. When we used to go to collective training with the Irish team, I trained far
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