How good was Barry McGuigan?

If you strip away the hype and overrated/underrated tags (which I think McGuigan has been a bit of both at times), and just look at his career, I think you'll find he was a very good fighter. He had a workmanlike jab and a great left hook. He beat Juan Laporte who shortly thereafter moved up a weight and gave Julio Cesar Chavez a tough fight. Laporte also gave Azumah Nelson a tough fight. When McGuigan won the title, he beat Eusebio Pedroza who was absolutely past prime, but Pedroza had been hanging on for several fights. McGuigan was the guy who got the title from him. I think his 8 round stoppage of Bernard Taylor was impressive too for the simple fact that Taylor was very difficult to catch if he didn't want to be caught. His prime was 2 years at best which definitely hinders his all time standing. The Cruz fight in the Vegas heat was a bad situation but realistically, there were guys around the division (Nelson and Esparagoza) who most likely would've beaten McGuigan shortly thereafter. All in all, he was a good champion who conducted himself honorably in and out of the ring.

 

a good fighter
an excellant boxing anaylst
an excellent guy

a good fighter who worked hard

 

Very nicely said. I agree completely

 

Probably a bit better than good in his prime.

He is a cliche riddled analyst, who is afraid to say anything that goes against the grain of the channel he is working for.

Maybe, never met him.

 

he was a good fighter who was lucky to catch Pedroza at the end of his rope, A Taylor who never develop, and a LaPorte who was a step behind.

 

Had a great left-hook to the body!

 

McGuigan was a lot better than this. He had alot going for himself and then the heat of Vegas got him. he just wilted. That left hook to the body of his was brutal and his combos were excellent. He'll forever be a whatif because of the fight with his manager limiting his inactivity and pretty much taking his drive. But in his prime he was superstrong and crippled guys w/ his body punches. Taylor never knew what hit him and LaPorte said after the fight that Barry was the one guy that rang his bell with a right to the ear in the 10th. I think at his very best he not only could beat Nelson, but w/ his body punches and great left hook anf speed, knock him out late after wearing him down.:hat:rasta

 

Pish.

 

06:44 GMT, Tuesday, 29 April 2008 07:44 UK
Calzaghe the greatest - McGuigan
By Ben Dirs

Joe Calzaghe (left) and Barry McGuigan

Barry McGuigan has backed Joe Calzaghe's credentials as the best boxer Britain has ever produced.

The Welshman extended his unbeaten record to 45 fights by beating Bernard Hopkins in Las Vegas on 20 April.

"His record alone tells us that he's probably the best fighter we've ever had," former featherweight world champion McGuigan told BBC Sport.

"Also the amount of world champions he's beaten and the way he's conducted his life, he has to be up there."

McGuigan cemented his place in boxing history when he claimed the WBA featherweight title with a famous victory over Eusebio Pedroza at Loftus Road in 1985.

But the 'Clones Cyclone' reckons Calzaghe, who has not suffered defeat in 18 years and who has made 21 world title defences at super-middleweight, could hold his own against any boxer from these shores, past and present.

"Boxing always has been and remains a sanctuary in troubled places"
Barry McGuigan

"There'll be those old-timers who say he wasn't as good as Jimmy Wilde or Benny Lynch or Jim Driscoll or Randolph Turpin or Nigel Benn, whatever.

"Boxing's about styles and his style may not appeal to everybody, but he could well be the best boxer this country has produced."

McGuigan was in London in his role of patron for boxing charity Fight for Peace, which recently had its official launch in Woolwich.

Fight for Peace was set up by former amateur boxer Luke Dowdney in Rio de Janeiro a decade ago, and McGuigan believes it can be as relevant and successful in England as it has been in Brazil.

"There's a lot of gun and knife crime in London at the moment and Luke decided he wanted to do something like what he was doing in Brazil," he said.

"It has been a great success so far. The gym is full of kids who have come from difficult backgrounds. We've offered them a chance to get educated and into boxing.

"This is their second family. Ultimately it's about feeling as though they have a purpose in life. There is a lot of tension and crime in London and ill-will towards one another.

"Boxing always has been and remains a sanctuary in these troubled places. It's a moral place, a hard-working place and gives kids a focus."

 

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/more-...k-ordinary-by-barry-mcguigan-115875-21104242/

So no more Joe Calzaghe. What a journey, what a fighter, arguably the greatest to come from these shores.

Retirement is the right decision. He was an exceptional champion. What else was left for him?

No more mountains to climb was how he put it. Bang on.

He leaves with an unblemished record, the best compiled by a British boxer.

Calzaghe was a champion for more than 10 years. We may never see that repeated.

He went out on the back of victories in the United States against marquee fighters.

Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones Jnr were not at their peaks, but don't tell me Hopkins was a spent force after the way he subsequently put paid to Kelly Pavlik without missing a beat.

Calzaghe would have beaten Hopkins in his heyday. Jones is another matter. All you can do is beat the bloke in front of you. Calzaghe, no spring chicken himself, made Jones look old.

Calzaghe's decision might disappoint some. There were fights out there that would have made him big money. Carl Froch for example, or Chad Dawson. But he would have been doing them a favour not the other way round.

Besides, I would rather see Calzaghe bow out a fight too early rather than a fight too late.

I was encouraged to hear of his plans for the future, promoting other fighters and charity projects. The biggest problem when you lay the gloves down is injecting purpose into your life.

That's why so many come back. Nine times out of ten it does not work. I admire Lennox Lewis for ignoring all the offers that have dropped through his door. And I know that Calzaghe will follow suit. It was never about the limelight for him, just the fighting. He loved to box.

He made good fighters look ordinary. And for a good part of his career with brittle hands.

Calzaghe was so down about the state of his hands he almost pulled out of the Jeff Lacy fight three years ago.

 

This is why people often call him overrated. Natonic's post summed him up quite well, I think.

 

I don't know, he may have given Azumah a good battle, but beating him is a different story.:smoke

 

would of been great fight to see either way though. lots of action:rasta

 

Not to sure how good he was as a fighter, but I rather hear him talk about Boxing than anyone else in these shores.