I grew up watching a fair amount of McGirt's outings, though he had so many of them that there were a lot I never viewed. In 1991, I picked Simon Brown to beat him emphatically and was shocked when James outclassed him in almost one sided fashion. He was a crafty technician. Always showed up in good shape. And had a pretty solid chin. He was a two division champion and unless I miscounted, went 5-3 in world title bouts. He compiled a total of 80 professional fights by the age of 33, and his record was 73-6-1-48. At his best, he was beaten only by prime or near prime versions of Pernell Whitaker and Meldrick Taylor. I often wonder if perhaps he had fought in a lesser era, if he might have emerged as a great. A truly good fighter and one that I probably rate similarly to a Mike McCallum - another exceptional boxer who's career was overshadowed by superstars. Subsequently, McGirt became a well known and respected trainer after his boxing career ended.. The list of men he worked with included: Antonio Tarver Arturo Gatti Nate Campbell Vernon Forrest Lamon Brewster Paul Malignaggi Joel Julio Michael Grant James McGirt Jr. J.C. Candelo Sherman Williams Paul Smith Jimmy Lange Troy Harden Allen Conyers Kelsey Jeffries Marianne Chubirka Matthew Macklin Ievgen Khytrov Jason Litzau -
Love this post:good. Buddy is an underrated champion with a high ring IQ. I was actually in the Garden when he and Sweet Pea fought there.
Buddy McGirt was an excellent boxer. When I think of his career the first thought that come to mind are injuries. He had a problem with his shoulder at one point which affected his left hand. I do remember vividly his performance against Simon Brown. It was Boxing 101. He was a total ring general that night even dropping Simon with a snappy lefthook late in the fight to seal it. At that time Brown was a very hot fighter and I was suprised he got borderline dominated. Buddy was a complete ring general. I don`t believe a 100% healthy Buddy McGirt gets stopped by Meldrick Taylor. McGirt claimed to have a problem with his ear or eardrum going into that fight. I don`t doubt Taylor couldve beaten him but not stopped him. Buddy had some Jersey Joe Walcott in him at times. I agree he fought some great fighters and it usually took a helluva fighter to beat him.
Big buddy, the man with cool custom shades, and the gold hoop earring, solid trainer who did an excellent job with Gatti, and once fought Greg Haugen with a separated shoulder..
Sweet. Today I was just reading a 90's Ring issue where McGirt and Brown were featured in "Face Off". Brown was the slight favorite but McGirt was the pick to win. Would have loved to seen Chavez move up and face McGirt. I believe it was in the works until Whitaker stole the opportunity from Buddy. Never thought that I'd look back and miss the days of the late 80's / early 90's Welters. Underrated group that preceded Pea, Trinidad, Quartey and DeLaHoya.
It seems that most generations aren't appreciated to their full until they're gone. I feel like Mayweather Jr and Hopkins are going to face that issue, I think they'll both be praised very highly in the future, but as of now they are either loved or hated.
Although Buddy was a good trainer, I think he attracted a lot of talented guys to a stable, which artificially inflated his resume. Then when his guys (Gatti, Tarver, etc) started getting their asses kicked, the bubble burst and his reputation crashed. As boxers turned trainers go he's top 5. Behind George Benton in both regards. He's less good as a trainer than Robert Garcia and Freddie Roach, but better as a fighter than those two.
One of my favorite fighters, he did a lot of things that you don't see much of any more. Like feinting with his whole body, head to toe. Beautiful left hand, until his shoulder went, then he beat a lot of guys with a jab and a straight right. I have never understood how Taylor beat him, or why they never fought again. Read some place that he went into the fight at less than 100%, with the flu or something. He fought Whitaker without a left hook and outfoxed him for most of the first fight.
He did a great job with Gatti unfortunately Gatti's wife who became his demise twisted his balls before the Mayweather fight and Arturo supposedly went on a Alcohol-coke binge a week or 2 before the fight...I dont think he would have won but would have been a better fight Buddy was a very good fighter, a fan of JJ Walcott and had a McGirt version of the arm shuffle...smart man I remember the advice he gave Tarver vs Jones "punch when he punches" and it worked well
Was there, too. Buddy's shoulder injury seemed to take a lot out of him. Great ring IQ. Always liked the way he operated both in and out of the ring. I assume by now that Al Certo has passed. That was an interesting dude.
As a big Pernell fan it's always a pleasure for me to watch him taking Buddy apart in their '94 rematch, but make no mistake, McGirt was a very, very good fighter - just not quite a great one, as Taylor and Whitaker showed. He had really nice upper body movement, and had top-notch ring IQ as well; I like the way he'd sometimes abandon the jab and instead surprise opponents by setting up attacks with that sneaky right hand lead. The way he disguised it and then ducked / pivoted away from trouble was pretty similar to the way Mayweather has used that shot in the past. The Brown fight was a total dissection and a great performance by Buddy (and he looked tiny in comparison) but I quite liked his points win over Gary Jacobs, too. One of those fights where one guy won it clearly (personally I thought there was a case to be made that Buddy won 9 of the 10 rounds) but all the rounds were hard-fought, competitive and enjoyable.
Wow. He seemed so old school even 20 years ago. But apparently doing well and looking great http://riverviewobserver.net/2013/0...g-champ-al-certo-on-choosing-the-right-weave/