Barry McGuigan: A Boxing Champion & Much More…

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By Donald “Braveheart” Stewart

Finbar Patrick McGuigan is not a name that strikes much of a chord with many people in the boxing world. It is however, a name with which to conjure though it is not instantly recognizable. It belongs to one of the biggest phenomenon of British boxing from the 1980’s.

Born in County Monaghan, Finbar was brought into a community in turmoil. Northern Ireland was a quagmire of conflict as the mainly protestant part of the United Kingdom had found itself needing to be under the protection of the British Army. Called in to protect the Catholic minority the Army, was by the early 70’s fighting a war with them and increasingly seen as a hostile force to all. By the time Finbar was old enough to know the difference between his catholic self and his future protestant wife, he was old enough to know what a Molotov cocktail and an AK47 was too – both were frequently to be found immersed in the conflict.

Whilst the conflict may have “officially” started in the late 1960’s it was decades earlier in which the seeds were sown and the communities found their barricades behind which to carp, moan and fight. From the start of his career to the end of it Finbar refused to take sides, wearing the UN flag on his shirts as his career had become both a symbol and a cipher for peace.

Of course he was not known as Finbar – he became Barry. His father, Pat, was a singer and sang Danny Boy at many of his boxing matches – having represented Ireland at the Eurovision Song Contest – it is not worth explaining that! As for Barry, in 1978 he was boxing for the mainly protestant Northern Ireland in the Commonwealth Games and then represented the largely catholic Ireland at the Olympics 2 years later in Moscow.

McGuigan, having started to fight as a young boy, he was good enough that his reputation quickly grew to the point that he was known as an exceptional boxer. In 1976 he became the all-Ireland amateur champion at his weight.

In 1981 he took 2 rounds to announce his move to the professional ranks in Dublin – prodigious knockout and we started to realize his move into the pros might be a little special. He did not have it all his own way, however and early in his career he had a loss, to Peter Eubank and yes he is related – Chris Eubank Senior’s brother. He avenged the debate before progressing, though in 1982, it almost all went sour. In the 6th round of their fight he knocked out Young Ali. Ali ended up in a coma and never recovered leaving McGuigan with the possibility that he could not continue as a professional boxer. It’s a tragedy faced by many boxers and for a while Barry contemplated other careers.

Having decided to keep going, the following year, in 1983, he won the British title. In that same year, later on he faced Valerio Nati for the European title in Belfast. Another the knockout, this time in the 6th round, meant he was now a double champion. The WBA made him number 1 contender and 1984 saw him fight 6 times, win 6 times and do so all by knockout. In 1985 that opportunity for a world title belt came in London as he faced Eusebio Pedroza for the WBA featherweight belt. Pedroza was a massive champion whilst McGuigan was the up and coming contender. Having dropped him in the 7th, McGuigan went on to take the world champion title after 15 rounds on points.

Coming back to Belfast he and his wife were given a public reception that saw him celebrated on the streets – by Catholics and Protestants alike. McGuigan was to make 2 defenses before heading out to Texas for a 3rd defense against a relative unknown in Stevie Cruz. McGuigan, ahead half way through, found the heat too much and after hitting the canvas in rounds 10 and 15 he lost on points. Cruz took the belt and McGuigan took a stay in hospital suffering from dehydration to recover. Partly because of the death of his father, McGuigan then took his gloves and hung them up.

Between 1988 and 1989 he did come back out of retirement with 3 wins before losing to the EBU champion Jim McDonnell. McDonnell went on to glory on the world stage winning the WBC and WBA belts, but McGuigan was never to regain that world title. 32 wins and 3 losses with 28 of those wins by way of knockout is a tremendous record but the biggest effect and legacy was the one that saw a man who was Catholic, marry a woman who was Protestant and unite both communities in support of his quest to be a world champion. Together they all shared one dream that eventually, after decades of conflict we got peace – truly in our times. If you had lived through the seventies, as I did, then you would understand just how remarkable that all is and was.

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